Asra And Julian, Plus One
by YaoiYuriLover929
Summary: What happens when an apprentice becomes curious about her lover, Asra's, past relationship with a certain plague doctor? Curiosity leads to good times! This is a three-way relationship story, just so you know.
1. Hidden Attraction

_Kasumi was in the bath of the palace, wearing a see-through robe as her black hair laid out around her, the tips swirling in the water. The water dripped down her face and neck as she leaned back against the side of the tub, letting out a contented and relaxed sigh. She was alone for a bit until she suddenly heard the footsteps of two people behind her, and she sat up, looking over her shoulder, and saw that it was Asra and Julian. They were both wearing bathrobes of their own and both with smiles on their faces, which Kasumi took as a sign that they were planning something. "What are you two doing in here?" Kasumi asked. "I thought you two were in your own bath?"_

 _"We were…" Julian answered, and he exchanged a look with Asra before looking back at her with a smirk. "But we both agreed that it was boring without you there, so we decided to come and… maybe make things more interesting."_

 _"What do you mean?" Kasumi would be lying if she said she wasn't a bit nervous about what they were planning together, but, she was also a tad bit excited. She felt Asra slip into the bath beside her before moving to be in front of her._

 _"We want to make sure that you're… satisfied." Asra's violet eyes glistened mischievously, but before Kasumi could ask him what he meant, she felt Julian sit down behind her in the bath with just his legs in the water as he leaned down and wrapped his strong arms around her shoulders. "You look tense, Kasumi. Relax." Asra practically purred._

 _"Yes, listen to your master, Kasumi." Julian whispered in her ear. "Trust me, you are going to enjoy what we have planned." He kissed the side of her neck and took in her scent of roses as his hands reached down to her chest and slowly started massaging her breasts lightly._

 _"Wha…?!" Kasumi was stunned for a moment as she watched him touching her breasts, then she turned her attention to Asra, who was simply sitting there and watching Julian's hands also. "Aren't you going to stop him?"_

 _"No." Asra answered and looked her in the eyes as he leaned closer, placing his hand on her knee. "As long as I get to touch you, too." His hand slowly traveled up her leg and to her inner thigh, so close to her center, but not quite touching it._

 _Kasumi's breaths started coming out in short pants as she felt herself getting more turned on by the second, especially with the way Julian bite her neck gently as his fingers lightly pinched her nipples. It clicked what they had planned, and she paused before asking her lover, "Are you sure you're okay with sharing me, Asra?"_

 _He chuckled deeply and moved closer to her, his free hand tracing along her lips as he looked into her beautiful light blue eyes. "Of course I am. Julian and I were together for a little while after all, and I know that you find him attractive. So, if I'm going to share you with anyone, I'm glad it's him." He gave her a kiss on the lips, and she just barely registered feeling Julian's lips curl up into a smirk against her ear. Kasumi suddenly gasped into the kiss when she felt Asra's hand touch her through her underwear, and when her mouth opened, his tongue immediately slipped in effortlessly. After Asra finally pulled away from an intense kiss, he smirked and teased, "You're wet… and I know it's not from the water."_

 _Kasumi heard Julian chuckle behind her, and he teased her a bit, too. "So, being with the two of us really turns you on, huh, Kasumi?" His eye seemed to peer right into her soul, and she nodded slowly, unable to form words anymore from being overwhelmed with this whole situation. "Good, but don't get too excited just yet. We only just started."_

 _Asra let out another chuckle and said to Julian, "Though, Ilya… I don't see any harm in giving myself a… taste. May I?"_

 _Julian smirked. "Go ahead."_

 _Kasumi suddenly saw Asra take a deep breath as he used a spell to let the air fill him so he didn't have to breathe before he dunked completely under the water. She gasped in pleasure and surprise when she felt both his hands against her inner thighs and slowly spreading her legs apart. Meanwhile, Julian was still massaging her breasts as his lips, teeth and tongue worked wonders on the skin of her neck and shoulders. She felt Asra slip her underwear off before going back in and starting to work his tongue over her slit. "Oh God!" Kasumi gasped out as she felt that and a jolt of pleasure shot up her spine._

 _Julian nibbled on her ear as he chuckled. "Just wait, it'll get better. He has a masterful mouth… trust me." He winked at Kasumi by simply closing his good eye in a winking fashion._

 _Kasumi arched her back, her breasts pressing back against Julian's hands as Asra continued his treatment on her. "Ohh! Mmm!" She moaned. Her eyes got hazy as the pleasure of both Asra's mouth and Julian's hands made her unable to resist, not that she did much resisting to begin with. One of her hands traveled up to behind Julian's head and she looked at him. "Kiss me." She pleaded, and he obliged immediately, pressing his lips to hers and capturing her moan as Asra's tongue slid against her clit. With her other hand, she reached down and ran her fingers through Asra's curly silver hair and pulled him closer gently in a silent plea for him not to stop._

 _Suddenly, a soft, but audible knock came from the door…_

–

Kasumi slowly opened her eyes and looked around the room. She was lying on hers and Asra's bed back at the shop, but when she turned over, he wasn't there. She sat up before slowly moving to the edge of the bed and dangling her feet over it as she rubbed her eyes, then stretched. _'Damn!'_ She thought. _'It was just a dream! A… very sexy dream!'_ Kasumi stood up and looked around the room for some clean clothes. Once she was dressed, she headed downstairs and saw Asra standing behind the counter, organizing some ingredients on the shelves, and Faust was draped around his shoulders lazily. She let out a deep, contented sigh as she walked further into the shop room.

It had been almost a month already since the Masquerade and they had managed to get rid of Lucio… for good this time. The courtiers had also been stripped of their titles and tossed in prison after conspiracy to kill Nadia and claim the throne of Vesuvia. Julian had managed to get a job as the palace's permanent doctor and he spent most of his time there with his sister. Nadia now ruled Vesuvia in peace and didn't have to worry about Lucio or her courtiers anymore, and Asra and Kasumi went to the palace to visit her, Portia and Julian often. Now, life was more-or-less, back to normal.

Kasumi then noticed the other person in the room and smiled at him. "Hi Julian." She realized that his knocking on the shop door must've been what woke her up.

Julian smiled back at her and walked over, giving her a friendly hug and kiss on the cheek. "Hi. What are you up to?"

"Not much. I just woke up."

"Do you want some tea?" Asra asked her as he walked over also. "Also, sorry I didn't wake you up. You just looked so peaceful, I didn't have the heart to."

Kasumi laughed. "It's alright, and to answer your question, yes. I would love some tea."

Asra nodded with a smile. "I'll be right back." As he started walking away, Julian asked him if they had any coffee. Asra chuckled, "I'll get you a cup of coffee, Ilya." He headed up the stairs, leaving Kasumi and Julian alone in the shop area.

"So, how's Portia and Nadia? Chandra and Pepi?"

"They're all good." Julian replied with a smile. "Pasha was saying yesterday that she wishes you and Asra were still staying at the palace, because now she hardly gets to see either of you."

Kasumi laughed again. "She has you and Nadia, though." She paused for a moment before asking, "Do you know what her relationship is with Nadia, anyway?"

Julian raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, I was just thinking the other day that the two of them would make a decent couple. Don't you think?"

Julian hummed in thought, then nodded. "I never really thought about it, but… you're right. After all, they are really close, so I can completely see that happening. I don't know if it already is, though."

The two of them kept talking and catching up until Asra came back with two cups, one filled with coffee and the other with tea, and he handed them to Julian and Kasumi. "Thanks." Kasumi said as she took her cup and sipped it, the familiar herbal taste filling her mouth. She glanced at Asra and Julian over the rim of her cup as they talked, and her thoughts flitted back to the dream she'd had that morning before waking up. She had been curious about the two of them since she found out that they'd been together in the past, and she discovered that she rather liked the idea of seeing two men together. What the Dream Asra said filled her mind, _"Julian and I were together for a little while after all, and I know that you find him attractive"_. He wasn't wrong, Kasumi did find Julian rather attractive, and his "bad boy" nature was practically irresistible, but she was in love with Asra, so she'd tried to push those thoughts out of her head. Now, though, thanks to that dream… she had some new ideas that she needed to explore. She cleared her throat to get their attention, and they both turned to look at her. "Can I ask you two something?"

"Sure." Julian answered.

"Of course you can." Asra answered also with one of his warm smiles.

Kasumi turned a bit to place her cup on the glass counter behind her before looking back at them. "So, do you two still have feelings for each other?"

Julian choked on his coffee as he took a sip and quickly set it aside before he dropped it and started coughing while Asra just stared at her, wide-eyed. After Julian got over his coughing fit, he looked at Kasumi, shocked. "Excuse me?"

"I know the two of you were together for a while, so don't even try to deny it. I'm just wondering if any lingering feelings between the two of you remain."

Asra and Julian exchanged equally surprised looks before Asra turned back to Kasumi and walked towards her, placing his hand gently on her arm. "Kasumi, if you're concerned that I might still feel something for Ilya, then don't. My heart belongs to you."

"Huh?" Kasumi then chuckled, confusing them both. "Oh, Asra, I'm not worried about you cheating on me."

"Then… why are you asking?" Julian asked.

"Because I was thinking…" Kasumi paused and thought the whole thing through again before shutting her mouth and shaking her head. "You know what? Never mind. Forget I said anything." She picked her cup back up and took another sip of her tea. _'What the hell was I thinking?! I can't possibly ask them that!_ Dreaming _about it is one thing, doing it in reality is something completely different!'_ She thought.

"Okay…" Julian said slowly, now beyond confused, but just shrugged it off and headed towards the door. "Anyway, I should probably be getting back. I'll see you both later."

"Bye Ilya." Asra said, and Kasumi just nodded at him in acknowledgement before he left, closing the wooden door behind him. Once he was gone, Asra turned to Kasumi and looked at her strangely. "What was that about?"

"What was… what about?" She asked, trying to sound innocent, and utterly failing.

Asra sighed and folded his arms across his chest. "You know exactly what I'm talking about. Don't play dumb with me."

Faust slid off Asra's shoulders and slithered over to the counter in front of Kasumi, looking her in the eyes. _"Asra and Julian."_ She said in Kasumi's mind as her tongue flicked out.

"I know, Faust." Kasumi sighed and looked at Asra, who was looking at her, expecting an answer. She took a deep breath and let it out, slowly. "I just had a dream before I woke up that got me thinking about your past with him, that's all." She wasn't really lying, but not telling the whole truth, either. "So, when I saw him here, I just wanted to know if either of you still had feelings for one another."

"What did you dream about?"

Kasumi's face went red as the highly sexual images from her dream reemerged in her mind and had her body getting hot almost immediately. The things Asra was doing to her under the water… the way Julian's hands and mouth felt on her skin… and thinking of how it could have continued had she not woken up. She looked at Faust who was still positioned on the counter in front of her, and looking in her eyes deeply, as if reading her thoughts. Kasumi panicked at that thought and quickly whispered to Faust, "Don't you dare."

Faust just tilted her head to the side before sliding off the counter and wrapping herself back around Asra. "Well?" Asra spoke up, and Kasumi realized she hadn't answered his question.

"It's nothing, really. It was just a dream, it's not even worth getting into, really."

Asra didn't really believe her, but he decided to just let it go and shrugged it off like Julian had.

––

Hey everyone! I've had this idea floating around in my head for a few days now, and I finally got around to writing it. More will be coming soon, so stay tuned! Also, please leave a review telling me what you think, I am always open to feedback!


	2. Night At The Theater

A few days after Kasumi's intense fantasy dream, she was walking around the marketplace of Vesuvia by herself in the early morning. She'd had yet another dream about Asra and Julian with her, but this one was more romantic than sexual.

 _She dreamed that the three of them were walking along the beach, not far from the docks, as they talked about whatever came to mind. Soon, they were all sitting along the shore and looking out over the water as it calmly washed waves upon the beach. Kasumi was leaning back against Asra while sitting in between his legs, and one of his arms was around her waist while his other hand was intertwined with Julian's in the sand. Kasumi looked back at the both of them and smiled, lovingly. "I'm glad that you two are happy."_

 _"And I'm glad that you two let me be part of your love." Julian said with a smile of his own. "I never really put much stock in fate, but… maybe this is it." He kissed Kasumi's forehead, then Asra's, before the three of them looked back out over the water-_

"Kasumi!" Someone suddenly snapped her out of the thoughts of her dream when they shouted her name right before she was hit by someone else and fell to the ground.

"Watch where you're going!" The person who'd run into her rudely snapped before running off.

Kasumi was offered a hand, and when she looked up, she saw the baker standing there, smiling at her as he offered to help her up. She smiled back at him and took the hand graciously and stood up with his help. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it." The baker replied with a kind smile.

Kasumi realized she'd been walking right in front of his shop when she was hit, and he had been the one to shout to her. _'Damn! I must've been so lost in my thoughts, I didn't even know where I was going.'_ She thought to herself. She reasoned that the familiar smell of pumpkin bread had subconsciously lured her here while her conscious mind was in the clouds.

The baker heard her sniff as her nose lifted slightly up in the air to catch a whiff, and he chuckled as he entered his shop, still talking to her through the open door. "Would you like a loaf? They're fresh!"

Kasumi laughed. "Have I ever turned down your bread before?"

"Not a once." He laughed back and grabbed a loaf for her, wrapping it up in linen carefully and handing it to her.

Kasumi reached into her pocket, but then looked panicked. "Oh no! I left my coin purse back at the shop!"

The baker laughed cheerfully. "Don't even worry about it, Kasumi! You're one of my best customers! Besides, I seem to remember that you had a role to play in saving Vesuvia not long ago!" He put the still warm bread in her hands. "Consider this a small token of my thanks!"

"Thank you!"

"Like I said, don't mention it." He paused, then asked, "I have to wonder, though… where is Asra? Don't tell me he left you behind again for another of his adventures…" The baker sounded worried.

"Oh, no." Kasumi reassured him. "He's home at the shop. He just wasn't feeling very well this morning, so I offered to get some lapsang souchong for him while he stayed and rested."

"He's not feeling well? Is he alright? He never gets sick."

"He's fine, it's just a small cold that'll he'll get over in a day or so." Kasumi frowned. "Since I left my coin purse back at the shop, I need to go back and get it before I can get his tea, though."

"Hm…" The baker hummed before he told her to wait a moment, then came back with some money, enough for her to buy Asra's tea. "Here."

"Oh! Thank you, but you don't have to do this."

"It's my treat. Give Asra my best when you see him!"

"I will! Thank you!"

About twenty minutes later, Kasumi entered the shop and closed the door behind her before calling out, "I'm back!"

Faust lifted her head up from the counter and quickly said, _"Shh! Resting!"_

"Oh, sorry." Kasumi whispered with a smile and set the loaf of bread and tea down on the counter as Faust slid over and happily wrapped around Kasumi. Kasumi scratched Faust under the chin, making her almost purr happily as she smiled. "I love you, Faust! Don't know what I'd do without you!"

Faust smiled and squeezed Kasumi a bit as she replied, _"Love you!"_

Kasumi chuckled and quietly headed up the stairs to her and Asra's bedroom to check on him quickly, and saw him lying on the bed, shirtless and on his back, one arm over his eyes, and the other over his bare stomach. She quietly walked over and placed her hand on his forehead to check his temperature, he was slightly warmer than usual, but not alarmingly so. She was about to leave when she suddenly heard him chuckle and saw him open his eyes as he asked, "Enjoying the view?" His voice was slightly hoarse from his sore throat.

Kasumi laughed and sat on the bed beside him, the wooden frame slightly creaking as she did. "I thought you were asleep."

Asra sighed. "I've been trying to sleep, but I can't."

"Would you like some tea? I brought back your favorite."

"Yes, I would love some." He smiled at her. He saw her lean down to give him a quick kiss, but he pulled away before she could, which prompted her to ask what was wrong. "Nothing. I just don't want you to catch my cold."

"I think it's too late for that. I've already been exposed." Kasumi laughed and pressed her lips against Asra's before he could protest. She felt him tense for a moment, still seemingly unsure about kissing her while he was sick, but then just relaxed and let out a quiet moan as his hand reached behind her head and gently intertwined his fingers in her hair as he kissed her back. After a moment, Kasumi pulled away slowly and smiled at him. "I'll be back in a minute with your tea." She kissed him lovingly on the forehead before getting up and walking out of the room.

Asra sighed happily as he watched her, his face holding a look of pure lovesickness. He looked down at Faust, who was lying on his chest, and smiled. "What would we do without her, Faust? Hm?"

 _"Love Kasumi!"_ Faust said, which drew a chuckle out of Asra, and he pet her head.

"I love her, too, Faust."

A couple minutes later, Kasumi walked back into the room, carrying a cup of steaming lapsang souchong in one hand and the bread the baker had given her in the other. Asra sat up as she walked over and sat next to him and handed him the cup. "Thank you." He said with a smile as he took it and sipped it slowly. "Mmm…" He licked his lips. "You make it the best, Kasumi."

Kasumi laughed and shook her head. "You're just saying that to flatter me."

"No, I'm serious." He smiled at her warmly, his eyes showing nothing but honesty and affection. He then noticed the linen-wrapped bread and smiled. "You stopped by the baker's, too, I see."

"Not on purpose." Kasumi confessed. "I was so lost in my thoughts that I accidentally ran into somebody outside his shop and he helped me up after I'd fallen down. I realized that left my coin purse here, so he gave me the loaf for free, and even gave me the money to buy your tea. He told me to send you his best."

"We really will have to find something very nice to give him in return." Kasumi nodded in agreement, and he took another sip of the tea.

"Do you want some bread? Or are you too sick to eat?"

"No, I can eat."

Kasumi carefully unwrapped the linen and broke a piece of bread off for Asra and held it up to his mouth. "I know you like it when I feed you."

Asra chuckled and opened his mouth to let Kasumi slip the piece of bread in and he licked the tips of her fingers with his sly tongue and tossed her a wink before chewing it slowly and swallowing. "Thank you. You spoil me."

"I like spoiling you."

The next few minutes passed with Asra slowly sipping his tea and talking to Kasumi as she occasionally broke more pieces of bread off to feed to him. After he finished off his tea, Kasumi took the cup from him and placed a hand on his chest to gently push him back down on the bed. "Now, you should try resting again. Call me if you need anything." She kissed his lips lightly. "I love you."

"Mmm, I love you, too." Asra smiled and watched as she picked up the half-eaten load of bread and empty tea cup before leaving the room. He let his eyelids slip shut as the smile stayed on his face.

About an hour later, Kasumi had decided to leave the shop again to let Asra rest, and she started walking through the cobblestone streets of Vesuvia until she found herself in the South End. She continued walking until she heard a roar of applause come the theater, and she headed inside to see the actors on stage doing a play. She decided to stay for a bit and took an empty seat to watch the show. About five minutes into the performance, a new actor came onto the stage in a fancy costume. His outfit was a black noble's attire with an ornate red design on the front and a red silk sash around his waist. He also had gold weaves lining his shoulders and gold silk on the cuffs of his sleeves.

Kasumi had to cover her mouth to stop herself from laughing, immediately recognizing this actor. She was surprised to see Julian there, much less, up on stage and acting, but she had to admit that he definitely had a talent for the stage, and the crowd seemed to love him.

Meanwhile, back at the shop, Asra woke up from his nap and stretched before he called out to Kasumi, but there was no answer. He then saw a piece of parchment on the nightstand next to the bed with a note written on it, and he took it. _"Asra, went out for a bit, be back later. Love, Kasumi."_ He sighed and was a bit disappointed that she left without him, but he knew she was her own woman, she could do what she wanted. He set the note down and got out of bed before heading out of the room and downstairs to the shop area.

Back at the theater, the audience was surprised when Julian asked for help from a member of the crowd, and a lot of people immediately waved their arms in the air, most of them were women. Kasumi couldn't help but chuckle at seeing how popular Julian was, and all the people clambering for his attention. She saw Julian's eye scan the crowd as he looked for a possible partner before it fell on Kasumi, and he smiled, calling out her name, even though, she hadn't even lifted a hand. "Me?" She asked, surprised as she pointed to herself.

"Yes," He called and gestured her to come up on stage with him. "Come on, don't be shy." Once she got up from her seat, she felt like all eyes in the theater were on her, but she took a deep breath and let it out to calm herself before walking up to the stage and she grabbed Julian's hand as he held it out to her, and he helped her take the large step onto the stage. She tripped slightly and fell forward against Julian's chest, and he just chuckled, holding her close.

"Careful." After Kasumi got her footing, she moved away, a bit embarrassed, as Julian's attention turned back to the crowd. "Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to introduce you to the lovely Kasumi, a dear friend of mine." He said with a graceful bow, and the audience applauded, but Kasumi also saw a few people glaring at her, apparently jealous that she got chosen instead of them. Julian turned to her and said, "Now, I asked you up here to help us out with a little dilemma…"

"What's that?"

"I need a dance partner for the next act. Would you be gracious enough to accept the role?"

"Dance?" Kasumi looked unsure. _'I barely made it up on this stage without falling flat on my face, now he wants me to dance with him in front of all these people?'_ Despite her nervousness, she nodded, "I would be delighted."

"Excellent! Then, go backstage and get into costume, dear. I'll see you in the next act." Kasumi just nodded and headed backstage.

When the next act of the play came around, Kasumi walked back on the stage, wearing a beautiful dress. The fabric was a deep blue color that sparkled and resembled the night sky with beautiful stars, and it was lined with a smooth gold silk. Her jet-black hair was also tied back into a loose, low ponytail, and she had a white and blue lily in her hair. Julian smiled when he saw her, and she smiled back as she walked over and placed her hand over his. "May I have this dance, monsieur?" She asked in a foreign accent to play her character, delivering her only line flawlessly.

Julian smiled and bowed to her, pressing his lips to the back of her hand gently. "It would be an honor, my lady." He then placed his free hand against her waist and pulled her towards him a little closer as the music started and she placed her right hand on his left shoulder. Their hands that were still intertwined lifted up to about shoulder height as Julian turned, bringing Kasumi with him. The two of them danced with one another for a couple minutes as the music guided them effortlessly around the stage, and the dance was almost magical in its form. As they danced, Julian whispered into Kasumi's ear so that no one would hear him when he complimented, "You look dazzling in that dress, by the way."

Kasumi blushed, but smiled and whispered back, "Thank you. You look rather handsome, yourself."

"Don't I?" He jokingly teased as he winked at her, and she just rolled her eyes, but still had that smile on her face.

The two of them finished their dance together before another actor came running to the stage, crying out Julian's character's name in an acted panic. With that, Kasumi and Julian separated, and she went backstage again, now done with her part in the play. While she was back there and watching the play, the owner of the theater walked over and made himself known. "Excuse me?"

"Yes?" Kasumi asked as she looked back at him.

"Julian said your name was… Kasumi, yes?" She nodded. "You have a remarkable talent for acting!"

"Oh? Well, thank you."

"I am putting together another play to be shown in a couple months. Would you be willing to audition as the leading lady?"

"Huh?!"

"Please? Julian is already cast as the leading man, and you two seem to work amazingly together."

"Um…"

"You don't need to give me an answer right away. Simply let me know before next weekend's announcement of the it. I'm usually here, and I'll be happy to pay you for your time, of course."

"I…I will think about it." Kasumi answered, and the owner beamed.

"Thank you!" With that, he left, and she turned her attention back to the play.

Roughly forty-five minutes later, the play was over, and all the actors and actresses came back out to take their bows as the audience cheered, even Kasumi was persuaded to take her bow with them, even though, she had a very small part in this play. After the bow, the curtains fell as the crowd kept cheering, and they all took a collective sigh of relief that the play was a success. Julian and Kasumi headed backstage together and ran into Nadia and Portia. Nadia had a shawl wrapped around her head so that no one would recognize her, and she greeted them. "Wonderful performance, both of you." She complimented.

"Thank you." Kasumi smiled. "I didn't even know you two were here."

"Ilya invited us." Portia said.

"You mean I invited you, and you invited the Countess." Julian joked, poking fun at his sister, and she rolled her eyes at him.

Ignoring Julian's comment, Nadia turned to Kasumi. "I love the dress, by the way, Kasumi. It really brings out your natural beauty."

"Doesn't it, though?" Julian teased and tossed a wink at Kasumi, but cleared his throat when he saw Portia looking at him with her serious look.

Kasumi laughed. "I appreciate the compliment." When one of the actors opened the back door of the theater to leave, Kasumi caught a glimpse of just how dark it was outside, and her face went pale. "Damn it! It's really late! I only meant to go out for a short walk! Asra is probably worried sick!"

"We should get you home, then." Julian offered, "Come on, I'll walk you back." The two of them left together, and Nadia exchanged a look with Portia.

"Well, they seem to be getting closer."

"Yeah… that's what worries me…" Portia sighed.

"You don't think they'd try doing something behind Asra's back, do you?"

"No, it's not that, but if Ilya gets in too deep, I'm going to shove my boot up his ass to teach him a lesson!" Nadia burst out laughing at Portia's comment.

After walking for a little while, Kasumi and Julian made it to the shop and Kasumi smiled at him. "Thank you for walking me back."

"No problem. It's not safe for someone to be walking alone on the streets at this hour."

"Then… should you be walking home by yourself?" Kasumi sounded concerned, which made Julian chuckle.

"Don't worry about me, my dear. I have dealt with far worse than petty criminals looking to rob someone in the dead of night." He bowed to her. "I hope to see you again soon, and say hello to Asra for me."

Kasumi nodded and watched Julian walk away until he was out of sight before heading into the shop. Everything was just the way it was when she left. She immediately headed upstairs and saw Asra leaning back against the pillows, reading a book in the candlelight. "Asra…" She slowly entered the room. Asra looked up at her and looked rather shocked. "What?"

"That's a beautiful dress. Where did you get it?"

"Oh!" Kasumi looked down at herself as she just realized she was still wearing it. She had been so worried about Asra that she'd completely forgotten to change back into her own clothes before leaving. "I got it at the theater after I was offered a small part in the play." She chuckled. "It's actually quite a funny story."

Asra smiled at her warmly and set his book aside before motioning for her to sit on the bed next to him, "Tell me what happened."

Kasumi happily walked over and sat down next to Asra, and he wrapped one arm around her shoulders and placed his other hand on her arm as Faust slithered over and laid on Kasumi's lap. She started telling him the whole story: how she'd just gone out for a walk, but then was drawn into the theater, seeing Julian on stage and him inviting her up to join him, seeing Nadia and Portia after the play was over… "Then, Julian walked me back here, and… well, that's it."

Asra chuckled. "Sounds like you had your own little adventure tonight."

"Yeah, it was a lot of fun." Kasumi suddenly remembered something. "Oh! And the owner asked if I wanted to audition for the role of the leading lady in his next play. Apparently, Julian already has the spot of the leading man, and he said we work amazingly together."

"I agree, you and Julian do make quite a pair. You both seem to attract trouble." He teased.

"Very funny." Kasumi replied, jokingly sarcastic, and they both laughed. Kasumi then felt Asra nuzzle into the side of her neck, and she shivered slightly at feeling his hot breath against her skin. "Mmm…" She hummed happily.

Asra chuckled. "I'm glad you had fun. I hope you're not too tired from your little jaunt today, though, because right now… I want you for myself."

Faust seemed to sense where this was heading and decided to slither out of the room to give them some privacy, but neither of them even seem to notice. Kasumi let Asra lay her down on her back on the bed, the back of her head on the pillows, as he leaned over her. "Are you sure you're feeling up for it?" She asked as her hand stroked his bicep.

"Yes, I'm fine." Asra assured her with a soft, loving smile. He kissed the side of her neck. "You just look too irresistible in that outfit. It's almost a shame, really… the more beautiful you look in something, the more I long to see you out of it." Kasumi just chuckled at his comment as she ran her fingers through his curly silver hair and he continued kissing her.

Not far from the palace gates, Julian suddenly stopped walking and turned to look back in the direction of the city he'd just left, and he bit his bottom lip. _'Dammit! What the hell is wrong with me? No matter how much I try to tell myself to stay away, I can't… from Asra or Kasumi.'_ He thought. _'You're getting in too deep again, Ilya… like a moth drawn to the flame…'_

––

Well, there it is, the second chapter, and it was longer than the first. I actually got the whole theater idea after playing the _Heart Hunter_ mini game for a bit. I don't have much else to say here except hope you enjoyed, and more to come soon.


	3. Spark Is Still There

The next morning, Kasumi was tending to the shop before it opened, and while she was in there by herself, she got to thinking about the offer that the theater owner had made to her the night before. She had to admit that it was amazing being up there on stage, and she enjoyed acting, even if she had only played a small part with one line. Going from that to becoming the leading lady in a play was a big step, and it was more than a little nerve-racking. However, knowing that she would be working with Julian seemed to make her want to do it, despite her nerves. Then, she had an idea that if she accepted and got the role, Julian would be spending more time, not just with her, but with Asra, too. After all, she knew that Asra would want to come to her auditions and rehearsals, and that would mean her seeing the two of them together more… and she liked that idea! Dreams of her, Asra and Julian together were now playing in her sleep every night, and every night, it was different; they were in a different place, or they were doing a different thing, but it was always the three of them.

Kasumi was so lost in her thoughts, as she seemed to be so often lately, that she didn't hear Asra walk into the room. She didn't even know that she was no longer alone until she felt his arms wrap around her waist, and she jumped a little in surprise before turning her head to the side. "Asra! You scared the living hell out of me!"

He chuckled and kissed the side of her neck. As he spoke, his voice wasn't nearly as hoarse as yesterday, "Sorry. What were you thinking about?" He placed his chin on her shoulder as he looked at her with his arms still wrapped around her.

"I was thinking about what the theater owner asked me last night. I'm still deciding whether or not to accept his offer."

"Oh? I didn't think the decision would bother you so much."

"I do want to do it, because acting last time was a lot of fun, but I guess I'm just nervous about being the lead in a play." She paused, then added, "Then again, knowing that Julian is the other lead is somewhat comforting." Her gaze turned to look at Asra. "Do you think I should?"

"That is entirely up to you, Kasumi. You can do whatever you want."

Kasumi sighed deeply. "Asra, I love you, but… really, you're no help when it comes to making decisions."

After spending the morning tending to the shop, Kasumi and Asra left, and headed to the South End side of the city, and went straight into the theater. They were both a little surprised to see Julian there, and he was talking to the owner of the place. "Julian!" Kasumi called out as she and Asra walked over.

"Asra, Kasumi…" Julian greeted them back, sounding just as surprised to see them. "What are you two doing here?"

"Have you considered my offer perhaps, Kasumi?" The owner asked, hopefully.

"What offer?"

"He offered to let me audition for the role of the leading lady in his next play." Kasumi answered Julian before turning her attention back to the owner. "Also, I have considered it, and would love to try."

The owner positively beamed at her answer, "Fantastic!"

"Wait… that would mean that we'd be acting together." Julian pointed out.

"Yes?" Kasumi asked, wondering why he sounded concerned with that.

Julian smirked. "No, it's nothing. After all, it would be fun getting to act with you again."

Kasumi smiled. "I agree! Although… I still need to pass the audition, don't I?"

"Quite right." The owner said, and handed her a script. "Though, I am sure that you will have no trouble. Head up onto the stage, and I'll read you into your lines." Kasumi nodded in agreement and did just what the owner told her to as the three of them followed her up to the edge of the stage. Julian and Asra stood back a bit while Kasumi climbed onto the stage and the owner waited for her to be ready before reading her into the scene using his copy of the script.

"Ilya, why did you sound concerned when Kasumi told you about the theater owner's offer?" Asra whispered to Julian so he didn't interrupt the audition.

"Well… I know that this play is centered around a romance between the two lead characters, so I just thought it would be sort of awkward if she were my acting partner."

"Awkward how?"

Julian blushed. "Well… considering that you and I used to…" He trailed off and looked back at Kasumi, "And now you and she are…" He trailed off again, seemingly unable to say it. He then shook his head. "Never mind me, maybe I'm just overthinking it." That wasn't the only thing about this situation that got to him, though. Honestly, he had been hoping to avoid Asra and Kasumi for a while… at least until he got his emotions under control, but that would be impossible now. He suddenly felt something slither against him, and he looked down to see Faust slid off Asra's shoulders and around his own, squeezing him affectionately. "Not again…"

Asra laughed, which made Julian blush a bit. "Afraid of a little snake squeeze? She's just being affectionate."

 _"Fun!"_ Faust said.

Asra chuckled as he scratched Faust's chin, then looked back at Julian. "Also, you don't exactly make it difficult to want to hug you. I know Kasumi enjoys being close to you, too."

Julian's face turned even redder as his ears burned slightly. "And… you?" He bit his bottom lip nervously*.

"Of course I enjoy being with you also, Ilya. During those three years when we were apart, I honestly missed spending time with you."

"Really? But… you had Kasumi. You didn't need me anymore."

Asra looked a bit taken aback by that comment, then frowned. "Ilya… did you really think I was just using you to try and forget about Kasumi?"

"Weren't you, though? Isn't that why you refused to come with me when I left Vesuvia after the Count's death? Because you had Kasumi back by then?"

Asra took a deep breath and let it out, slowly. "Alright… I admit, that _is_ how it started. I was in such a depressed state back then that I was willing to just try anything to get my mind off Kasumi. After a while, though… I realized that being with you wasn't just an escape, I did it because I enjoyed your company. I didn't leave Vesuvia with you because Kasumi needed me since she'd lost all her memories and couldn't even recall who she was. I felt like I needed to stay, for her sake." He looked back at Julian who was staring at him, his eyebrows high in shock. "What?"

"You mean to say that you… actually cared about me then?"

"Of course I cared, Ilya… I honestly still do." Asra confessed. "When you decided to face the noose in order to meet the Hanged Man and get your memories back, I was… beyond terrified that you'd never return. Then, when you did, I was ecstatic."

"Really?" Julian blushed. "I…I didn't know you felt that way."

The two of them were suddenly interrupted out of their conversation when the owner of the theater spoke up to Kasumi, "Oh! Perfection! I could not ask for a more perfect leading lady in this play than you!"

Kasumi beamed happily. "Thank you!" She got down off the stage and asked, "Can I ask exactly what this play is about, though? I know it revolves around a romance, but what exactly is the story itself?"

"Oh! It's about two young lovers who fall for each other during the height of the plague. Tragedy strikes as the girl gets infected and dies before they can leave the city, and her lover commits suicide after discovering her fate. So, it does end on a tragic note, but it is supposed to represent the bond of true love." He looked at the three of them, who were all looking back with shocked expressions. "What? …Do you think a play about the plague is a bit too soon?"

"No, no… it's not that, really. It's just…" Asra looked between Kasumi and Julian, and Julian finished for him.

"Let's just say that the three of us have… personal ties to the plague, in one way or another."

"Really?"

"Yes, but we should be fine." Kasumi assured him. "After all, we're just acting." She was worried that Julian might try to back out of the play, now that he knew what it was really about, so she said that to try and reassure him. Just to be sure, she then changed the subject. "Hey! Why don't we head somewhere to grab a drink and celebrate?"

Julian laughed. "Sure! I have just the place in mind!" The three of them then said goodbye to the theater owner and left. After only about ten minutes, they arrived at a tavern, and Asra laughed as he saw the sign over the door.

" _The Rowdy Raven_? Of course you'd like a place like this!"

Julian smirked as he opened the door for the two of them, "You should try their Salty Bitters." He walked in after them. "They're disgusting."

Asra and Kasumi both laughed before Kasumi asked jokingly, "Why should we try them then?"

"Because they'll knock you on your ass faster than a straight shot of whiskey!"

Asra chuckled. "No thank you, then. I'd rather have a clear head… for as long as possible, anyway."

Kasumi smiled and offered, "Why don't the two of you go find a table and I'll grab us some drinks at the bar?"

Julian nodded and when she left, he spotted a corner booth that was away from everyone else and was private, so he led Asra over to it and sat down. Asra sat down next to him on the left side of the booth and Julian spoke up. "So, uh… we never got to finish our conversation in the theater."

"You're right, we didn't." Asra didn't say anything else, waiting for Julian.

"I guess I was just a bit… surprised. You know, to hear that you really did care about me then… and still now." Julian avoided eye contact as he spoke and his ears felt hot as his pale face clearly showed his blush. "I actually thought you cursed me… and spent those three years being mad at you…" He looked guilty now. "I was an idiot."

"Yes, Ilya, you are an idiot…" Asra agreed, but then smiled at him softly. "But you're a lovable idiot."

Julian chuckled, half nervous, half relieved. There was silence between them for a moment, but it wasn't an awkward silence; they were both simply content. Julian then suddenly reached forward and ran his fingers through Asra's curly hair, combing his bangs back so he could see Asra's eyes better. He looked at those violet orbs, which were gazing right back at him, and breathed out, "Wow…"

"Wow… what?"

"Your eyes. They're like… sparkling amethysts."

"Oh?"

Julian suddenly realized what he'd just said and pulled his hand away, Asra's bangs falling back in their place. "Sorry." He completely turned away, chastising himself. _'What the fuck, Ilya?! You really can't help yourself, can you?! Even though you know Asra and Kasumi are together?!'_

"I don't mind, Ilya." Asra said, placing his hand on Julian's arm. "In fact, I appreciate the compliment. You always did love my eyes, as I recall." He chuckled and tossed Julian a wink with that remark.

 _'No way! Is he… flirting with me?'_ Julian looked at Asra, shocked, but then smirked and decided to just live in the fantasy and play along. "Along with… _other_ things about you." He said the word "other" suggestively.

Asra snorted out a laugh. "Pervert."

Kasumi walked over to the booth, holding three mugs of different liquids and placed them on the table. "Hi! What did I miss?"

"Nothing too exciting." Asra answered and took one of the drinks as Kasumi sat down across the table from them.

"That so?" Kasumi asked, sounding mischievous as her eyes glanced back and forth between them. She had actually heard their not-too-subtle flirting, but wanted them to admit that that's what they were doing.

"Why do you look like the cat that swallowed the canary?" Julian asked.

"Do I?" Kasumi teased with that same smirk on her face. "Hmm… I have no idea. Maybe it has something to do with… sparkling amethysts, I think it was."

Julian's face went scarlet red. "You heard that?"

Kasumi burst out laughing. "I heard everything!" Once she got her laughter under control a bit, she added, "Don't worry. I think it's cute seeing the two of you flirt like that."

"Wait… is _that_ why you asked us the other day if we still had feelings for each other?" Asra asked, seeming to connect the pieces.

Kasumi rubbed her arm sheepishly and let out a short laugh. "I just can't help but think the two of you are so good together. I mean, when I first learned that the two of you were together in the past, I'll admit that I did feel a bit of jealousy. Although, when I saw the two of you together in the dungeon after being arrested and we persuaded Julian to join our hug, seeing the two of you so close was cute." Kasumi confessed. "Also, when Julian got hurt in the arena and decided to go through with the hanging in order to regain his memories, I could tell that you were desperately worried about him. I could also tell that he was worried about you when you got hurt in the arena, too. It's obvious to me that you both still care for each other."

Asra chuckled. "You're a weird one, Kasumi."

About an hour later, the three of them were all a bit tipsy from the alcohol and laughing at some random joke Julian made. Suddenly, some music started playing from a band in the corner, and a few people got up to dance. Julian stood up and offered Asra his hand, "May I have this dance?"

Asra glanced at Kasumi, as if silently asking for her permission, and she smiled, nodding for him to accept. So, he took Julian's hand and let him help him stand up. "I would love to!"

Julian smiled and brought Asra out to the dancefloor as Kasumi watched them with a smile on her face. The song had an upbeat tempo and Julian began dancing with Asra to the music. Halfway through the song, Julian spotted a couple people get up on an empty table and dance, so he smirked and decided to do the same. He found another empty table and hopped on it, moving his feet to the music as Asra watched him. Julian was a bit surprised to see Asra climb onto the table next to him and start copying his movements, but after Asra smiled at him, silently issuing a dance challenge, Julian's smirk returned and he continued.

Meanwhile, Kasumi was watching them, laughing and clapping her hands to the music as others did the same around her. Pretty soon, everyone in the tavern had their eyes on Asra and Julian, and by the end of the song, they were standing in the middle of the tavern, with their arms around each other. When they noticed everyone looking at them, Julian cleared his throat and pushed Asra back a bit by placing his hand against his chest. "Thanks for the dance." He didn't move, though, and after taking a step back, neither did Asra. They just stood there, looking at each other, and Julian's hand was still on Asra's chest, right over his heart.

After a moment or so of silence, Asra sighed. "No problem." He looked away with a sad look on his face. When he lifted his gaze, he made eye contact with Kasumi, and he walked over to her, taking her hand in his. "Come on, Kasumi. We should be getting home."

Kasumi frowned. "Already? Why?"

"Because…" He casted a glance at Julian from over his shoulder, but then quickly looked back away when he saw Julian looking at him. "It's getting late." It was a lame excuse, and they both knew it, but he just walked out with her before she could protest.

Julian just watched them both leave with a heartbroken look.

––

*Oh my God! Sorry, but just have to add this in! Doesn't Julian just look too fucking sexy when he makes that blushing face and bites his lip! I mean, damn, _Nix Hydra_ , what are you trying to do to me?!

Anywho, I am kind of running out of ideas… if any of you have any suggestions, _**please**_ do not hesitate to share them. I am always open to feedback!


	4. Emotions Running Wild

A couple hours after leaving the tavern, Asra was lying on his side facing the room on his and Kasumi's bed, but he was unable to fall asleep. Kasumi had long since fallen asleep next to him as she laid on her back, but Asra's mind just wouldn't let sleep take him. It was so quiet in the room that he could hear the faint sounds of crickets from the open window next to the bed as the full moon casted light through the curtains. He let out a silent sigh as he thought through what had happened only hours ago…

 _Asra was sitting with Julian and Kasumi at the booth in the tavern when music started playing. Julian suddenly stood up from his spot next to Asra and held out his hand to him. "May I have this dance?"_

 _Asra looked back at Kasumi, wondering if he should accept Julian's offer or not, but Kasumi smiled and nodded at him, encouraging him to. He turned back to Julian and took the hand that was offered to him and stood up also. "I would love to!" He let Julian lead them out to the center of the tavern which had become a sort of makeshift dance floor, their hands never separating. Once they got to a good spot, Julian turned to Asra and smiled, placing his free hand against Asra's waist as he other remained in his. Asra chuckled and placed his free hand on Julian's shoulder in response and taking a step forward so they were closer together, so they were lightly pressed against each other. Asra could see Julian's face light up with a blush as he felt them so close, but started guiding him across the floor to the music._

 _After a minute or so, Julian suddenly broke away from Asra and hopped onto an empty table nearby to dance to the music on top of it. Asra simply watched for a moment before hopping onto the table next to Julian and did the same, flashing Julian a challenging smirk and moving his feet to the music. They both danced on the table tops until Julian hopped back down from the table and went over, placing both his hands on Asra's waist in an offer to help him down, and Asra jumped down after placing his hands on Julian's shoulder for support. The two of them then went back to dancing around the room as people clapped happily around them and watched._

 _When the song ended, the two of them stood there in the middle of the dance floor, arms wrapped around one another and looking into each other's eyes. In that moment, Asra felt a spark light between them, like a flicker of a flame, and couldn't bring himself to pull away. He saw Julian look around and seemed embarrassed by all the people staring at them, and Asra felt his hand press against his chest and forced him to take a step back. "Thanks for the dance." Julian said in an almost whisper. He didn't move, and his hand stayed on Asra's chest, right over his heart, and Asra was almost certain that Julian could feel his heart beating._

 _Asra was silent for a moment before a sudden thought hit him: Kasumi. He looked away from Julian's piercing gaze with a sad look on his face. "No problem." Was the only thing he was able to say. When he looked up and made eye contact with Kasumi, who was looking at him curiously, he walked over to her, taking her hand in his. "Come on, Kasumi. We should be getting home."_

 _Kasumi frowned. "Already? Why?"_

 _"Because…" Asra chanced a glance at Julian from over his shoulder, but quickly looked away when he saw Julian looking back. "It's getting late." Before Kasumi could ask questions or protest, he walked out of the tavern, dragging her with him since he was still holding her hand._

Asra sat up on the bed and cast a glance at Kasumi as she slept with Faust lying on her stomach curled up. His heart swelled with love and adoration as he looked at her, and he gently leaned down to kiss her forehead, but being careful not to wake her or Faust. _'I am in love with Kasumi, I know that… so why do I still feel drawn to Ilya, too? I can't have both of them!'_ He thought. He suddenly knew that he needed someone to talk to on this, and he knew exactly who. He quietly got out of bed and left a note for Kasumi before grabbing his scarf, bag and hat, and leaving.

After about an hour of walking, Asra had made it to the forest outside Vesuvia and continued walking until he came across Muriel's hut. He opened the door after undoing the wards around it, and entered, but the hut was cold, dark and empty. He conjured a ball of light to see the room. "Muriel?" Asra called out, but there was no response. "Hm… it's still fairly early. Maybe he just went out foraging." Asra sat down on the bed and wrapped himself in a fur after taking his bag and hat off, and began waiting for his best friend to return. He didn't have to wait long, as within five minutes, the door opened again. Inanna rushed in first, immediately running over to the bed and tackling Asra happily, licking his face as her tail wagged. Asra laughed and slightly pushed Inanna off him, "Alright, Inanna, alright! It's good to see you, too!" After she got down, he pet her between the ears, as her tail kept wagging.

"What are you doing here?"

Asra looked up at Muriel who had walked over to the bed and answered, "I know it's late, but I need to talk to you."

"About?"

"It's about Kasumi… and Julian*…"

Muriel let out a deep sigh as he took his cloak off and hung it up. "Asra… you know I can't help you with relationship matters."

"I don't need advice, I just need a listening ear."

Muriel sat down on the bed next to Asra and gave a small nod, "Fine. I'll listen."

"Thank you." Asra ran his fingers through his hair and started at the beginning, telling Muriel everything that happened that day. As he talked, Muriel simply sat there and listened as Inanna sat at his feet and seemed to listen to Asra's story also. At the end of the story, Muriel let out a thoughtful hum before he decided to speak up.

"So, what are you going to do?"

"I don't know." Asra sighed, looking at the floor beneath his feet. "I still love Kasumi, but I still feel something for Julian, also. That's what makes this so hard…"

"Well, I'm sorry I can't be of any help, Asra, but relationships are not my strong suit, as you know." Muriel stood up and looked back at his friend. "Maybe you just need sleep."

Asra nodded as he yawned. "You're right. I'll go home, now."

"No, stay." Muriel pushed Asra to sit back down on the bed after he'd gotten up. "It's dark out there, and it's a long walk."

Asra knew it was pointless to argue with Muriel, so he just nodded and laid down on the bed, Inanna jumping up there to join him. Besides, he had left Kasumi a note, and Faust was with her, too, so he wasn't concerned about worrying her. After Muriel laid down on the floor next to the bed with a fur, Asra let his orb of light go out.

The next morning, Kasumi woke up and stretched before actually opening her eyes, and she saw Faust lying on the bed beside her where Asra usually was. Kasumi sat up, a bit worried about where he was, but she saw his note and grabbed it. _Kasumi, you were asleep, and I didn't want to wake you, but I'm going to Muriel's, be back later._ "Ah." Kasumi said in understanding and got off the bed. She sighed and thought, _'Hopefully, he won't make an excuse to not go to dinner because of what happened last night.'_ Portia had invited Kasumi and Asra to dinner at her cottage about a week ago, and now, Kasumi felt he might try to get out of it to avoid Julian.

Meanwhile, at the palace, Julian was lying on the bed in his room and just staring up at the ceiling, thinking about what had happened the night before. _'It's all my fault. I pushed him away, after all, and now, he probably thinks I don't want anything to do with him… which is the opposite of what I want! Damn it, I shouldn't have asked him to dance in the first place with my emotions going haywire…'_ Suddenly, there was a knock at the door, and Julian sat up. "It's open."

Portia walked into the room, carrying an outfit in her arms and beaming at him. "Good morning, Ilya! I have an outfit for you to wear tonight!"

"Tonight?" He asked, confused.

Portia placed the clothes on the bed next to him and put her hands on her hips, looking at him. "Yes. The dinner party tonight at my cottage, remember?"

"That's tonight?!"

"Yes, and I expect you to wear this outfit."

"Oh, uh… I would, Pasha, but…" He laid back down with his hand on his forehead and pulled off his best sick face. "I'm not feeling too well today."

Portia saw right through his act and glared at him. "Oh, no you don't! You think I forgot that you used to pull this stunt all the time when we were growing up? I know when you're lying! Tonight is important to me, and you _are_ going, even if I have to drag you by the ear!" With that, Portia left the room, the conversation was over from her point of view.

Back at the shop, Kasumi was behind the counter when the door opened, and a mysterious stranger with a hood over their head and mask covering their face walked in. Faust seemed to get spooked by the stranger and darted under Kasumi's shirt to hide before they could see her while Kasumi watched them carefully. "Hello." The mysterious man said, his voice was deep and rumbling, and it almost reminded Kasumi of the sound of a big cat growling. "I heard you had various magical and herbal ingredients here."

"Well, you heard right." Kasumi said, trying to sound pleasant and professional, but this man was giving her the creeps.

"I need some marigold and barberry."

"Ah, yes. They are over here." Kasumi said and led this mysterious man to the shelf where they stored various herbal ingredients in sealed jars.

"Good…" The man was quiet for a moment, and didn't even attempt to take the herbs, which made Kasumi a bit suspicious. "Do you have nightshade berries?"

Kasumi shook her head. "We don't. We don't sell poisons here."

The man scoffed. "And you call yourself a shop? What kind of magic shop only sells _healing_ herbs?"

" _Our_ kind of shop." Kasumi said, now getting irritated. "Now, if you're not going to buy anything, I suggest you leave. I have things to do."

The man suddenly drew a knife from his belt and pinned Kasumi against the wall, holding it to her throat. Even though the mask was still covering the man's face, his eyes seemed to hold contempt. "I am not leaving until you pay for what you've done!" He obviously wasn't counting on Faust popping her head back out from Kasumi's shirt, and biting him on the wrist, which caused him to recoil in shock and pain as her multiple teeth dug into his skin. Using this distraction, Kasumi used her magic to summon a huge gust of wind that knocked him back and his head hit the counter. He flung his arm which caused Faust to lose her grip and she went sliding across the floor, but was unharmed. The man then stood up and saw Kasumi now holding his knife, and he realized he'd dropped it when she flew him backwards. "This isn't over!" He growled and ran out of the shop.

Asra walked up to the shop just as the door swung open and the man went running down the street. He immediately got worried and ran inside where he saw Kasumi gently pick up Faust off the ground. "Kasumi!" She turned to look at him. "What happened?!"

"This strange guy came in and asked for some herbs. Then, out of nowhere, he took out a knife and pinned me to the wall. I'm lucky Faust decided to teach him a lesson." She pet Faust on the head.

Asra ran over and hugged Kasumi tightly, letting out a sigh of relief. "I'm sorry, I should have been here." He kissed her forehead. "I'm so glad you're alright." He pulled back a bit and pet Faust on the head, too. "Thank you for saving her, Faust."

 _"Anything for Kasumi!"_

Kasumi laughed and looked back at Asra. "I'm tougher than I look."

Asra smiled at her warmly. "I know. I still can't help but worry, though." Kasumi kissed him on the cheek, and he chuckled before responding with a kiss on the lips.

After a moment or so of trading kisses, and Faust slithering onto Asra's shoulders, Kasumi took a step back and changed the subject. "So, we still on for dinner tonight?"

"Huh?"

"Portia invited us to dinner tonight at her cottage, remember? Apparently, she put a lot of work into tonight, so we really _should_ go."

"Yeah…" Asra agreed, but sounded hesitant.

"Come on, Asra… please?" She gave him her best puppy dog eyes, and he immediately caved.

"Alright, alright. Damn that look… you know I can never resist it."

Kasumi smiled widely, her light blue eyes glinting happily. "I know!"

That evening, Asra and Kasumi arrived in the gardens of the palace and found their way to Portia's cottage. Portia was standing on the porch and waiting for them, waving them over when she saw them. "Asra! Kasumi! So glad you two could make it!"

Kasumi laughed and ran over, giving Portia a hug. "Wouldn't miss it!"

Portia opened the door and ushered them inside. "Come on in!"

When Kasumi walked in, she saw Nadia sitting at the round table, sipping some white wine in an elegant glass as she talked with Julian who was sitting next to her. Julian was wearing a white and black tunic with ornate silver decorations on the front and bottom sleeves with black pants and black knee-high boots. As Kasumi was observing him, Asra walked in behind her, and she could hear him take a deep breath and letting it out slowly to calm himself down, presumably in response to seeing Julian.

"Alright, everyone is here!" Portia announced. "We can now eat!"

"What is for dinner, anyway?" Kasumi asked.

"I actually asked the chefs to make everyone their favorite meals, so we all will have our own dishes."

"You went through a lot of trouble to set this up." Asra commented. "What's the occasion?"

"Ah, ah, ah. Don't get hasty. You'll all know what this is about in due time. For now, let's just enjoy our meals." Portia sat down on the other side of Nadia while Asra sat next to her, and Kasumi sat down in between him and Julian.

About halfway through the meal, Portia looked over at her brother. "Alright, Ilya, what's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Don't lie to me. You've barely touched your lobster claws." She caught him casting a glance at Asra before looking away with a sad look on his face. "Ilya, what is going on?"

"Nothing." He repeated before standing up suddenly. "I need some air. Excuse me." He then walked out of the cabin and onto the porch.

Nadia sighed after he left. "Asra, would you be a dear and go fetch him back, please?"

"What? Why me?"

"Because I asked you to. Besides, you might be the only one to be able to talk some sense into him." Asra sighed himself before standing up and following Julian outside. Once he was gone, too, Nadia turned her attention to Kasumi. "What is going on with those two?"

"You really want to know?"

"Yes, that's why I asked Asra to fetch him, so you could tell us." Kasumi nodded and began telling them what had happened between Asra and Julian at the tavern.

Meanwhile, outside the cabin, Asra spotted Julian sitting down on the ground in front of the porch, holding Pepi in his arms as she purred. Asra took a deep breath before heading down the three steps and walking over to him, "Ilya…"

Julian looked surprised to see Asra standing there. "Asra…" He replied. Exchanging names had been the only time they'd talked to each other tonight.

"Why did you just leave like that?"

Julian looked away. "Isn't it obvious?"

"You're avoiding me."

"No, _you're_ avoiding _me_. I bet if Kasumi didn't make you come along tonight, you wouldn't have."

"And I bet that if Portia didn't make you, _you_ wouldn't have." There was silence between them for a bit before Asra spoke up again, rubbing the back of his neck. "Look, this is stupid. I'm not going to get dragged into a debate with you, Ilya. This evening obviously means a lot to your sister, and I'm sure we've already ruined it enough, so… why don't we just go back in and try to enjoy ourselves for the night?" Julian simply nodded in response, but before they could head back inside, Nadia, Portia and Kasumi came out to them.

Nadia seemed to walk over to them with purpose and said, "Kasumi told Portia and I everything. You are both idiots. So, you two danced together and had a good time, what is wrong with that? Kasumi doesn't seem to see a problem with it, so why should either of you?"

"Exactly." Kasumi said as she walked over with Portia. "There's nothing wrong with the two of you enjoying each other's company. In fact, that should be a good thing. So, I agree with Nadia, you are both idiots."

"Hear, hear." Portia agreed as she nodded.

After thinking it through for a bit, Julian looked back at Asra. "You know what? They're right. There's nothing wrong with what happened. There's nothing wrong with two friends enjoying being together." The word "friends" hit them both like a ton of bricks, but neither of them showed it, and Asra nodded in silent agreement.

"Tch… men." Nadia scoffed, which caused Kasumi and Portia to laugh.

"Now, enough with the drama." Portia cleared her throat. "I'm sure you three are wondering why Nadia and I invited you tonight."

"I will admit, I am curious." Kasumi said.

Nadia and Portia exchanged glances before taking hold each other's hands and intertwining their fingers. Nadia spoke up, "Portia and I have decided to take our relationship to the next level. Since Lucio is out of the picture for good, I realized that I don't need a man to help me rule Vesuvia… I need someone I love and trust."

Asra laughed. "Wow! Well, I'm happy for both of you! I'm glad you _do_ have someone you love and trust, Nadi. It's about time, really."

"I knew it!" Kasumi chuckled.

"You knew?" Portia asked.

"I didn't know you two were together, no, but I did have a hunch that it would happen. After all, the two of you are great together!"

Nadia laughed. "If only we saw that earlier."

"Ilya?" Portia asked when she noticed how quiet he was being.

Julian snapped out of his shock, "I'm happy for you both! I just hope you take care of my sister from now on, Countess." He said in his protective brother tone.

"She already does." Portia smiled.

"Please," Nadia protested with a smile of her own. "You're always the one taking care of me. Now let me return the favor and spoil you."

All five of them laughed happily, the air now gone of all the previous negative energy from Asra and Julian. Since it was such a beautiful night, they decided to stay outside by the garden for a while and talk. They all talked with one another for about ten minutes before they heard the sound of an owl hoot, and they all saw Chandra come flying down and perching herself on Kasumi's shoulder. She hooted again, right at Kasumi before taking back off, but not going far, seeming to stay flying in one spot as she looked back.

"She wants you to follow her." Nadia said to Kasumi.

"What for?"

Nadia motioned her head towards Chandra, "Follow her and see."

Kasumi stood up and started walking underneath Chandra as she led her away from the cabin. They both stayed within seeing distance of everyone else though as Chandra perched herself on the fence surrounding the garden and looking down at the ground beneath. The grass surrounding the fence was high, so Kasumi couldn't see what she was looking at, but did see a flash of red. Kasumi carefully kneeled down and brushed the grass aside and let out a gasp. She turned around and called out, "Asra! You better get over here!" She saw Asra stand up and come rushing over, but once he was closer, she urged him to slow down and approach carefully.

"What? What is it?"

Kasumi motioned him over and moved the grass aside again to show it to Asra. "Look." It was a female baby fox. Kasumi looked around and wondered out loud, "I wonder where her mother is." Kasumi carefully leaned down and picked up the fox by the back of her neck gently. She thrashed around and tried to swipe at Kasumi with her paws, but it didn't do anything. "Oh, you're a feisty one." Kasumi chuckled and took her scarf off to wrap it around the fox. "It's alright. I'm not going to hurt you." She turned to Asra. "Can we take her home?"

"I don't know…" He sounded hesitant. "Maybe her mother just left for a while and will be searching for her later."

Chandra suddenly hooted again, and Faust seemed to understand what she said, as she then communicated to Asra, _"Mother is dead."_

"Oh…" Asra sighed, sadly.

"Come on, Asra. We can't just leave this poor thing out here all by herself." She looked down at the fox in her arms. "She'll die without someone to take care of her."

"Alright, alright." Asra consented. "We can take her home."

Kasumi wrapped her free arm around Asra's neck. "Thank you, Asra!"

––

*You ever notice how Asra seems to use Julian's nickname in front of some people, but just calls him Julian in front of others?

Wow! So, a lot happened in this chapter! Asra and Julian are still battling with their feelings, Kasumi's life was threatened, Nadia and Portia are together, and Kasumi found a baby fox that she takes in! What will happen next? What role will this new fox play? Who was the man who threatened Kasumi? How will the people of Vesuvia react to Nadia's new relationship? And, possibly most importantly… will Julian and Asra ever finally tell each other how they feel, and will Kasumi admit the truth about her dreams?

All these questions will be answered as we continue! Please, don't hesitate to give me any feedback or suggestions you'd like me to put in!


	5. Familiar Touches

After Asra agreed to let Kasumi keep the baby fox she'd found, they made their way back to the cottage, and Kasumi showed Nadia, Portia and Julian what she was holding.

"Oh, she's so cute!" Portia gushed.

Chandra came flying over and landed on Nadia's lower arm as she held it out to her, and Nadia pet her head. "She's who you led Kasumi to, isn't she?" Chandra hooted in reply, and Nadia chuckled.

"The poor thing is probably hungry." Portia ushered them all back inside her cottage. "Come on, I have some milk in here." They all head inside and Portia headed to the container where the milk was, and Pepi ran over, patting her leg with her paw and meowing. "No, Pepi. It's not for you." She batted her leg again and meowed louder, presumably now demanding some. "Don't you use that tone with me." Portia glared down at her like a scolding mother. She took some of the milk and put it in a pot, and putting it over the fire in the stove. She then explained, "I got Pepi when she was only a couple weeks old, and used to heat up milk like this for her." After the milk was heated just enough to be warm to drink, Portia took the pot off the fire and set it on the counter before pouring some into a bottle. After screwing the top on, she handed the bottle to Kasumi. "Also, I recommend holding her on her back in your arm, like you would a baby, as you feed her."

Kasumi nodded and followed Portia's instructions, having the fox lay down on her back in her arm as she took the bottle in her free hand and held it up to her face. The fox smelled the contents of the bottle before it started drinking the milk from it, and Kasumi sat down on one of the chairs at the table as she fed her. As she was feeding her new furry friend, she looked up and saw Asra looking at her with a soft smile on his face. She smiled back and asked, "What?"

"You're really motherly, and I was just thinking that I'm sure you would make a great actual mother someday."

"Please, Asra, don't put that image in my head." Kasumi sighed with fake exasperation. "I'm not even remotely ready to be a mother." They both laughed as Asra sat in the chair next to her. Kasumi saw Julian and Portia talking on the other side of the room while Nadia wasn't far from them, refilling her glass of white wine. She then turned to Asra and decided to talk to him. "Asra, why are you acting so weird around Julian?" She whispered so no one else would hear her. "It can't just be because of a simple dance in a tavern."

Asra desperately wanted to tell Kasumi what was going on, how he was feeling, but he was worried that she'd think he was a two-timer and didn't want her anymore. Instead, he just let out a sigh and looked at the floor as he folded his hands in front of his mouth. "It's nothing you need to concern yourself with."

"Asra, why can't you talk to me? We're supposed to be lovers, and Julian is one of my closest friends, so I would really like to know what is going on."

"…I'm sorry, Kasumi." Was all he said, and Kasumi just sighed. She had learned a long time ago that it was pointless trying to get information out of Asra when he was determined to be secretive.

After a few minutes, the fox was full and let out a tired yawn, rubbing her eyes with her paws. Kasumi chuckled as she saw this, thinking it was just too cute and set the now empty bottle aside. Portia walked over and took the empty bottle. "Wow, she really _was_ hungry. Why don't you stay the night so you don't have to carry a sleeping fox all the way back to the shop?"

"Where will we sleep?" Asra asked, and Portia opened a door to the back room where there was a bed. "Oh."

"Thank you, Portia." Kasumi entered the back room and gently placed the baby fox on the bed as she started falling asleep. Kasumi then let out a yawn herself and laughed, "Guess the sleepiness is contagious."

Nadia laughed. "Then maybe you should head to bed, also." Kasumi just nodded and crawled into bed herself as the fox cuddled up next to her. "We should probably call it a night." She turned to Portia. "Let's head back into the palace."

"Yes." Portia agreed and headed out of the cottage, but before leaving, she turned to her brother. "Ilya? Are you coming?"

"No. I'll stay here for a bit longer. I never did finish my dinner, after all." He joked and watched Nadia and Portia leave before sitting down at the table in front of his abandoned food, but didn't touch it. Instead, he turned to look at Asra. "I think we should talk…"

Asra looked back at Julian and shot a glance at Kasumi, who was lying on the bed with her back facing the door, then nodded at him. He sat down in the seat next to Julian's and moved the chair to face him. "You're right, we should." The two of them were silent for a moment before they suddenly both tried to speak at the same time, but stopped when they realized the other was about to say something. Asra took a deep breath and tried again. "Ilya… I'm not avoiding you because of the dance, really… after all, I enjoyed it."

"So did I."

Asra nodded in understanding. "It's just that…" He sighed. "Being so close to you, it just made it so obvious how much… I care about you." He looked down at the floor as his cheeks darkened with a deep blush. "You really mean a lot to me, Ilya…"

Julian looked shocked, but managed to blurt out, "I feel the same way."

From the other room, Kasumi had opened her eyes and was listening in on their conversation. She hadn't really been tired, she'd just told everyone that because she was hoping that Julian and Asra would talk.

"That just makes it worse." Asra said, running both his hands through his hair in frustration. "I love Kasumi, Ilya, and I would never want to hurt her."

"I don't want to hurt her, either. I really like her, and the last thing I want to do is come in between the two of you."

A sudden thought occurred to Kasumi as she listened to them. _'So… I'm the problem.'_ She thought, sadly. _'_ I'm _the one who is coming in between the two of_ them _.'_

"Well, we need to figure something out, because obviously, avoiding each other is never going to work; we have too many common ties." Asra pointed out.

Julian and Asra were both quiet for a couple minutes before Julian spoke up. "Maybe we should try and see if there really is something between us, or if maybe that night was just… an echo of the past."

"What do you mean?" Asra asked before Julian gently placed his hand against Asra's cheek and slowly leaned towards him. As he closed his eye, Asra realized what he was about to do, but he was frozen, unable to stop it. When he felt Julian's lips brush against his, fireworks seemed to go off in his chest, and he closed his eyes, kissing Julian back passionately.

At noticing the silence, Kasumi discreetly looked over her shoulder and saw Asra and Julian sitting there with their lips locked. She was shocked to see that, but then, a small smile played on her lips. She looked back at the wall so they wouldn't notice her looking when they broke apart.

The two of them had seemingly forgotten all about Kasumi being there, though, as Julian and Asra broke their kiss for a brief moment and looked at each other. "Asra…" Julian sighed before going right back in for another kiss, and this time, Asra responded immediately. "Mmm." Julian moaned slightly as he wrapped his arms around Asra's waist and pulled him closer. Asra gasped slightly at being suddenly pulled towards him, and Julian took the opportunity to slide his tongue into Asra's mouth. Asra moaned in response and wrapped his arms around Julian's neck as he gently brushed his tongue against Julian's. After they broke apart this time, Asra moved his lips down to Julian's neck where he kissed his pulse point before biting it, and that caused Julian to suck in a sharp breath*. He leaned his head to the side a bit to expose more of his neck and silently asking Asra not to stop what he was doing. "Oh, Asra…" He slightly moaned again as Asra bite into his neck a second time, a bit harder now.

Asra suddenly stood up from his chair, but didn't pull away as his arms stayed around Julian's neck, and he crawled onto Julian's lap, biting the skin right above his collarbone and lightly tugging on it with his teeth. Afterwards, he used his tongue to lick all the way up Julian's neck and under his chin. He looked into Julian's eye and whispered, "What are we doing?"

"I don't know," Julian said with a shake of his head and a chuckle. "But whatever it is… don't stop." He kissed Asra on the lips and moaned a bit when he pulled his hair in response. Julian unbuttoned Asra's shirt and draped it off his shoulders, exposing his beautiful smooth, tanned skin. He suddenly stood up, never breaking their kiss, as Asra's legs wrapped around his waist for support. He slowly and gently lowered Asra to the floor and kept kissing him until he broke away and hovered over him. Asra was looking back at him as he laid there shirtless, his lips slightly swollen from the intense kisses, and his eyes glazed over with lust as his hands were held over his head*. That sight alone got Julian hard in his pants almost immediately, and he swallowed before smirking and said, "Your lips taste the same as I remember." He licked his lips seductively. "I wonder if other parts of you taste the same, too…" He whispered as one of his hands moved down to the front of Asra's pants and gently rubbed him, feeling that he was already semi-hard. Asra's moan from that motion surely did nothing to turn off Julian.

Suddenly, the front door opened, and Portia walked in as she said, "Sorry, I forgot my bag, and- oh my God!" Portia yelled at seeing the scene on her kitchen floor, both her hands covering her mouth in shock.

"Pasha!" Julian cried in shock and quickly got off Asra and stood up. "It's not what it looks like! Honest!"

Asra quickly grabbed his discarded shirt and put it back on. "Yes, we were just, uh…" He stopped, not sure what to say as an excuse.

Portia glared at both of them. "Is this why you two have been acting so weird around each other?! Because you have been sleeping together behind Kasumi's back?!" She yelled at the top of her lungs.

"No! We haven't slept together!" Asra said.

"Then what the fuck did I just see?!"

"We were… experimenting." Julian answered.

"Experimenting?! Is that what you call lying on top of Asra who is half naked and rubbing his crotch?!"

"Pasha… please stop shouting."

"I'll shout if I want to! This is _my_ house!" She yelled. "Kasumi!"

Kasumi walked out of the bedroom since it was pointless to try and pretend to be asleep now with all the commotion. "What?"

"Do you have any idea what these two have been up to while you were asleep?!"

"I heard everything you said, so… yes."

"Kasumi, I swear, this isn't what it seems!" Asra pleaded.

Portia stomped over to Julian and grabbed his ear, dragging him with her. " _You_ are in trouble! I'm hereby forbidding you from leaving your room for a whole day!" She growled and stormed out with him and slammed the door behind her, finally waking the baby fox in the other room who then wandered out and rubbed against Kasumi's leg.

As Kasumi picked up the fox, Asra looked at her guiltily. "Kasumi, I-"

She cut him off. "You don't have to explain, Asra. I was never asleep, you know. I heard and saw everything. If I wanted to stop you two, I would have."

Asra's eyes widened in shock. "What? You… saw what happened and didn't stop us. Why?"

Kasumi pet the top of the fox's head as she smiled at Asra and replied, "I told you before. I think it's cute seeing the two of you together. I know that you both still want each other. Hell, I heard you both admit it." She chuckled, but then frowned. "I don't want you to see me as an obstacle that is stopping the two of you from being together, though. If you want, Julian, go get him." She motioned her head towards the door.

Asra looked at her, sadly. "Kasumi, does that mean… you don't want me anymore?" His eyes started filling up with tears at that thought.

"What? No! Who said anything about me not wanting you?" Kasumi reassured him, "I love you, Asra, and I will never _not_ want you." Her smile returned. "But I am an open-minded person, and I don't want to be the reason why you and Julian push each other away. As long as I know about it, I am completely fine with you two being together." Asra looked beyond shocked now, and she just laughed. "What are you waiting for? I'm certain he's not going to send you an invitation."

Asra laughed. "Kasumi, you really are a weird one." He shook his head with a smile on his face. "But if you're okay with it…" He looked at the door.

"I am. Go." Kasumi encouraged, and Asra gave her a kiss on the lips before leaving the cottage and heading for the palace, and she smiled. Letting out a contented sigh, she went back into the back room and sat down on the bed. "I hope they have fun." She said to the fox in her lap.

 _"Me too."_

"Huh?!" Kasumi looked at her, shocked. "Did you just… speak? To me?"

Meanwhile, with Asra, he found his way to the grounds just underneath Julian's room window, and he climbed the vines up to where it was. He peaked in and saw Julian lying on his bed with no one else around, so he softly knocked on the glass.

Julian heard the tapping and looked over, seeing Asra, and he stood up, opening the window for him. "Asra," He whispered. "What are you doing?"

Asra climbed in through the window and smiled at Julian. "We never got to finish our "experiment"." His eyes glinted mischievously. Julian was shocked when he heard that, but before he could say anything, Asra grabbed him by the collar of his tunic and pulled him close, kissing him fully on the lips.

This time, it was Julian who was frozen for a moment before he melted into the kiss and wrapped his arms around Asra's waist, pulling him closer until their entire bodies were pressed together. He felt Asra's fingers run through his auburn hair before he pulled on it again, causing Julian to growl appreciatively. When they pulled away, they were both panting a bit and looking at one another with uncontrollable passion.

"I can't fight it anymore…" Asra panted, his lips only an inch from Julian's. "I want you, Ilya."

Julian's response to that was to kiss Asra again and walk them over to the bed as they began fiddling with each other's clothes, eager to see the other out of theirs. By the time they landed on the bed, both their tops were on the floor, leaving them shirtless, and Julian's pants were unbuckled and unzipped enough to where they were riding low on his hips. Asra bit Julian's collarbone hard, then licked the forming mark with his tongue. "Mmm…" Julian leaned his head back and gave Asra his sexy turned on look. "Damn, Asra, you still know just how to make me react."

"Do you want me to stop?" Asra asked teasingly, already knowing the answer.

"No!" Julian shook his head. "You can do whatever you want to me. In fact… please do."

Asra chuckled and leaned over Julian. "Oh, I plan to!" He kissed Julian's lips hotly, and their tongues intertwined in an almost desperate dance.

The two of them spent the rest of the night tangled in each other's arms as they made up for lost time.

––

*Aw, come on! We all know Julian is a masochist! That's why when Asra joked in the dungeon that he "wouldn't bite", Julian blushed and replied that he hope he didn't, because we all know he would have enjoyed that!

*Oh my God! If any of you are an artist, or know an artist, can you _**please**_ draw a picture of Asra looking like that on the floor and send it to me?! I'm drooling just imagining it! I know I'm a pervert, but I don't care (if this story itself isn't evidence enough of that)! I would do it myself, but I can't draw to save my life… :(

So, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I certainly enjoyed writing it, because there was finally some Asra/Julian action! Woo! Ahem… anyhow… once again, any ideas? Throw 'em at me!


	6. Pieces of the Past

Back with Kasumi, she was lying on her back on the bed with the baby fox – who she discovered was her familiar – lying next to her with her two front paws on her stomach. "So, what is your name? Do you have one already?"

 _"No."_

"Hm… then how about we try to find one for you." Kasumi hummed in thought before suggesting some names. "How about… Scarlett?" The fox stuck her tongue out in disgust, making Kasumi laugh. "Okay, no. Hm… Autumn?" She shook her head. "Lily?" Shook her head again. "Ember?" The fox nodded. "Ember, huh?"

 _"Yes."_ The fox looked happy.

"Alright!" Kasumi chuckled. "Ember it is!" She pet Ember on the head as she laid her head on top of her paws. She continued petting her and let out a contented sigh, looking up at the ceiling.

Ember lifted her head up and looked at Kasumi. _"Thinking?"_

"Hm? Oh, yes, I'm just thinking about what has happened between Asra, Julian and I over the past couple months or so. Everything involving Lucio happened so fast. It seems like it only started yesterday…"

-Flashback-

 _Kasumi was in the library at the palace after being hired by Nadia to track down Julian, and looking over Julian's desk, trying to find any clues about where he went or where he was now. She sighed in exasperation after she'd spent the whole night looking for clues with no luck. Suddenly, she heard a voice outside. "Oh come on. I really need to get in there!" She recognized Portia's voice and looked out the window of the library, looking over the treetops of garden. She sounded like she was having an argument, though, Kasumi couldn't tell who the other party was. Kasumi walked out of the library and made her ways to the gardens._

 _"Please?" Portia pleaded. "You're really trying my patience here."_

 _"How dare you? Don't you know who I am?!" The other voice screeched._

 _"Yes, yes, I know. I swear to everything above that if you don't move, I'll have roast cockatoo for dinner!"_

 _Kasumi finally made through the last trees until she was in a clearing, and she saw a small but cute cabin with Portia standing in the yard in front of the tool shed._

 _"That's it!" Portia growled. "Pepi, honey… get 'em!"_

 _"Mow!" A Siamese cat suddenly jumped up onto Portia's shoulder and swatted its paw at a pure white cockatoo. The bird had been pacing back and forth on the roof of the small work shed, shrieking and nipping at Portia whenever she'd tried to enter. The cat swats at the cockatoo again, knocking it off and sending it flying._

 _The bird clips Portia's head with its wing in its escape, muttering to itself in anger. "They'll never forget me. They'll never survive without me!"_

 _"Oooo, that awful bird. He makes me so mad, Pepi." Portia turned and saw Kasumi standing there, and she got a shocked look on her face. "Kasumi! Um… fancy seeing you here." Her cheeks slightly colored in embarrassment, but she then smoothed her apron and quickly recovered, smiling at her. "I'm surprised you managed to find this place. It's a little off the beaten path."_

 _"Where are we?" Kasumi asked._

 _"Oh! How rude of me." She cleared her throat before spreading her arm out to show off the cottage. "Welcome to Casa de Portia. My own little oasis on the palace grounds. Just watch for the graspgourds. They're feisty today." She tossed Kasumi a wink as she said that, then kicked off a curious vine as it tried to grasp her ankle. "Why don't you have a seat? It must have been a walk to get here, huh?" She gestured to a bench made out of a large log that rested up against the exterior of her cottage._

 _Kasumi picked her way through the garden, careful to not step on any of the fantastical plants, many of which she didn't even recognize. She sat down as Portia picked up a rake from nearby and looked at her with a wry smile._

 _"You don't mind me working a little as we talk, do you? I've got a lot of work in the garden today."_

 _Kasumi shook her head, but as she settled in, she realized she had a million questions for Portia. She decided to start with a simple one. "Is the Countess alright?"_

 _Portia frowned and straightened up from her work to give Kasumi a long, searching look. Finally she sighed and nodded, albeit slowly. "I think she will be. To be honest, Kasumi, things were getting a little hairy here before you showed up. I'm glad milady decided to visit your shop. I think you could be just what we need."_

'Well, if I don't get her brother killed first.' _Kasumi thought. Then decided to confirm her suspicion by asking, "So… Julian's your brother?" If she hadn't been sure before, she was then. The naked shock and hurt on Portia's face told her all she needed to know._

 _"Yes." Portia confessed. "I'm sorry about that scene outside your shop, you know. I was just… surprised to see him there."_

 _Kasumi thought back to the image of Julian walking out of her shop, caught red handed breaking and entering… again. "I was, too."_

 _Portia smiled. "He's got a real flair for the dramatic. I'm glad to see that hasn't changed."_

 _"It must run in the family." Kasumi joked._

 _"Me? Dramatic? Why, Kasumi, how dare you?" Portia laughed and tossed another wink at Kasumi. "I learned from the best. Ilya taught me everything I know." There was silence for a moment before Portia waved the heaviness away and squared her shoulders, giving Kasumi a determined smile. "I didn't know you two knew each other." With yet another wink, she asked playfully, "That happen before or after milady hired you?"_

 _Kasumi's cheeks flushed under Portia's scrutiny. "Um, nope, that was the first time. Definitely never seen him before!" She tried to sound convincing, but utterly failed._

 _"…" Portia's look said it all: she didn't buy it._

'Damn! She's onto me!' _"…" She sighed and came clean. "I first met Julian the night the Countess visited my shop. He arrived shortly after she left." She could still remember the glassy eyes of Julian's mask, piercing her soul._

 _"Hmm. That sure sounds like my brother. Why didn't you tell milady?" The look on Portia's face was not unkind, which made Kasumi feel like she could tell her anything without consequence._

 _"I didn't want to condemn a man on incomplete information." Kasumi said. "If it's my word that knots the hangman's noose…" She trailed off, her face going pale in horror. "How could I possibly send a man to his death before investigating his innocence?"_

 _"I'm glad to hear you say that, Kasumi. I really don't know what mess Ilya's gotten himself into, but… if he has you in his corner, I get the feeling everything will work out alright in the end."_

 _"Portia…"_

 _"Hmm?"_

 _"Thank you."_

 _"Of course! That's what I'm here for, you know. Pep talks and expert gardening skills." She looked at the horizon, late light dapples the clearing and dancing on her face. "Oh my, it's getting pretty late, huh? I better get back to work, Kasumi. But… I'm glad you came to talk to me. I knew we'd be friends eventually."_

 _Kasumi smiles before turning away and heading into the gardens, head swirling with thoughts of Julian and his predicament. Strangely, she felt more at ease after speaking to Portia, the trails ahead seeming less insurmountable. She then decided to take another route back to the palace, wandering aimlessly through the foliage. The further she got from Portia's cottage, the darker the sky above her got._ 'That's strange… it should be still mid-afternoon.' _Dread grew in the pit of her stomach as she turned deeper into the darkness, her feet moving as if possessed. The palace's soaring spires emerged from the top of the trees, and the rest of the gleaming building soon followed. Thick foliage opened up to rolling fields cut across with a nearby brook that serpentines its way through the grass. At first her eyes just passed over it before the color registered and her stomach filled with dread. Red. There was no mistaking it. Crimson ran through the slow moving creek and stained the shore. Kasumi scrambled from the banks and took a deep breath. With trepidation, she followed the flow of the water upstream with her eyes. It was seeping from the stonework of a forgotten corner of the palace… poison._

 _It would have been easy to miss. The brook was small, tucked away on a side of the palace where she imagined isn't patrolled often. Kasumi turned back to the garden in horror and saw the source of the darkness. Rot and decay. The trees at the edge of the fields there were dying. It seemed as if all the color had left them long ago. Kasumi swallowed hard and resolved to follow the stream to its end. With heavy feet, she started the long journey beside its banks. Soon, the vast fields gave way to rocky cliffsides, and the stream transitioned to a limestone structure. An aqueduct, one of the many flowing towards the city, designed to provide water for the many denizens. From the height she was standing at, balancing on the first stone of the unconventional path before her, she could see all of Vesuvia. Sprawling, chaotic, and vibrant. Swirls of smoke left chimneys to dance in the air, twining together like lovers._

 _Overhead a raven circled Kasumi, swooping lower as she walked along the bridge. He seemed familiar, somehow. The raven landed with a thud on her shoulder, tilting its head at her. "Um. Hello." The raven opened its mouth as if to scream, but simply nibbled on the hem of her shirt instead. Its beady eyes watched her warily. In fact, all its feathers were ruffled as if it was on high alert. Kasumi opened her mouth to say something else, but a noise startled the bird into flight, leaving her alone again. Eventually, the aqueduct lowered and joined together with another water line, both heading deeper into the city. Kasumi could see buildings around her now, the first signs of urban life, as she reached the outskirts. There was no doubt in her mind anymore. Crimson poison ran from the palace grounds was in the city's water supply._

 _"…Kasumi?" Someone asked her name from behind, and when she turned around, she saw a figure slowly emerge into the dim light of a city lantern. Face half cast in shadow, standing on the aqueduct with her, was Julian._

-End of flashback-

"I had seen Julian before then, obviously, but that was the first time we had actually gotten to talk." Kasumi explained to Ember. "I ended up running from the guards with him and he saved me from almost being killed by a vampire eel. He then introduced me to Mazelinka, and she offered to let me stay the night, but I then realized how late it really was so I decided against it and went back to the palace. So, I went back and met Asra at the fountain… he brought me into his gate between worlds, and… that was where we first kissed."

 _"Tell!"_ Ember said excitedly, wanting Kasumi to tell her that story, too, and Kasumi laughed.

"Alright."

-Flashback-

 _Crickets buzzed with anticipation in the cool night air as Kasumi approached the garden fountain after making it back from the city. Questions that Kasumi had been holding onto for Asra filled her mind. She felt like the more she knew, the less she understood. She had found out a lot when she had been with Faust in the library before seeing Portia at her cottage. Kasumi just hoped that talking to her master would help her understand._

 _Kasumi settled on the lip of the fountain and gazed down at the placid water beneath her as she pulled out the emerald necklace from her pocket. She held it above the surface, prepared to drop it in the pool once more… but the water distorted before she could, and another face replaced her reflection. "Master!" She says in shock._

 _"Did you call me, Kasumi? I was just thinking about you." He leaned back, running a hand through his wet hair and smiled at her. Water droplets slowly trailed down his lips. "Have you been busy today? You look really tired."_

 _"I won't lie, I am…" Kasumi trailed off. So many questions swirled in her mind, both from what Faust had shown her through memories in the library and what had happened with Julian. She really didn't understand a lot of it._

 _"Ahhh, I recognize that look, Kasumi. Am I in trouble?"_

 _Kasumi lightly glared at him and shot back, "You bet you are! You've been hiding things from me."_

 _Asra blinked slowly at her, head tilting to the side as he regarded her. "Have I…? You'll have to be more specific, Kasumi."_

 _"You haven't told me anything about your time at the palace! And you were- you were with-" She stopped herself as her cheeks flushed red a little, images of what Faust had shown her, especially concerning Julian and Asra flashed through her head. She also thought about what Julian had said about Asra cursing him. She just sighed. "I thought you said you'd be more honest with me, master, but I just feel more confused."_

 _"Do these questions really bother you so much?" Asra sighed and leaned back, regarding Kasumi with a fond, but otherwise unreadable, expression. "You only needed to ask Kasumi. So… what do you want to know?"_

 _"There's a tree… it's the tree right by this fountain. The big willow, that you can see even from the library."_

 _"Oh. I remember this tree. I used to nap under it for hours, dreaming…" He trailed off, frowning, then shook his head. He then leaned forward to gaze at Kasumi once more. "Why do you ask?"_

 _"It… has my name carved into it."_

 _"It does…?" Asra looked shocked, but then frowned. "It does. I'd forgotten about the name… I was so lost in those days."_

 _"Did I forget, too?" She asked._ 'We haven't talked about this. The gaping chasm of darkness in place of my past. For as long as I can remember, which isn't very far back, I've known there was something missing.' _Kasumi's first memories were of meeting Asra, but beyond that… hazy fog. Every time she tried to remember, sharp headaches would overtake her. Asra had taught her how to calm herself. But he had also always told her not to try and remember._

 _"Kasumi…" He sighed. "If I told you, and it hurt you… what if I can't fix it, this time? What if something goes wrong? I don't know if I can answer these questions on my own… what a conundrum."_

 _"Asra?"_

 _"I think… you're ready now. …You've likely been ready for a lot longer than I have." Asra nodded to himself, and then looked Kasumi in the eyes with a gaze that pierced through the water between them. "This would be easier to talk about in person, don't you think?"_

'What does that mean? Will I have to wait until Asra returns to the shop?' _Kasumi thought, but before she could ask, he held out his hand for her, as if they weren't separated by water._

 _"Kasumi… take my hand."_

 _She just stared down at the water in confusion._ 'What does he mean, take his hand? I don't know if I can.'

 _"Trust me, you're ready. I promise you can do this. Just… reach out and take it." Asra awaited her in the fountain, arm outstretched, a smile playing across his lips, and…something like wonder and confidence in his eyes, an unshakable belief in her that urged her forward._

 _Kasumi slowly reached out, her fingers ran through the chilled water, then a warm hand gripped hers, and she was pulled down into darkness. Arms suddenly encircled Kasumi as she was pulled from the water, stumbling forward and into Asra's chest. He hugged her fully, resting his chin on her shoulder as he let out a soft puff of air. For a moment, they both just stood there, frozen in time…and then Asra pulled back a little, color was dancing on his cheeks. "It's good to see you. I missed you." Asra cleared his throat and moved a few steps backwards, though still lingering on the edge of Kasumi's space._

 _Kasumi then took a look around properly, and she was unsure whether she could believe her eyes. Colors swirled and chased each other in the air, hazy refractions were dancing endlessly through undulating mist. The lights bounced off bizarre, perpetually shifting plants that seemed to stretch and shrink at the same time. "Where are we?"_

 _"It's a gateway, from one world into the next. It doesn't really exist. But you found me here, anyway. Does it call to you, I wonder?" Asra walked to the edge of the water, turning back to look at Kasumi, and holds out his hand once more. Kasumi's feet seemed to move on their own, bringing her into his orbit, and she followed him, twining their fingers together. "There's so many things I could show you here… or things this place could show us. I wonder what it has in store for us? Just keep close to me, Kasumi. We wouldn't want you getting lost." Asra winked at her, and then took a step out into the water. Instead of sinking down into it, the surface turned glassy, shimmering but holding his weight. He grinned, then tugged Kasumi onto the water, too._

 _She wobbled a little, then regained her balance. Below them, suddenly the pool seemed to have fathomless depth. Strange, luminescent shapes swarmed under their feet, lighting up as they took slow steps. In the sky above them, stars echoed the beating rhythm._

 _"Hmmm." Asra hummed. "Alright. Let's try this then. But… if you start getting a headache, you need to tell me. We should be careful."_

 _"Why?"_

 _"Because if you force the memories too much, you'll hurt yourself. Maybe beyond repair." Asra's fingers squeezed hers a little tighter as they walked further into the oasis. Out of the corner of Kasumi's eye, she saw a shadow lingering in the lush foliage, but when she turned to look at it… there was nothing there. "I thought this place might have those answers. A place where reality isn't reality… there's so much to learn here." Asra let out a long sigh and stopped, turning to face her. His hands slid up her arms and rested on her elbows as he pulled her closer. "But there's danger, too. We need to tread carefully. Especially if we're going to try and get those memories back. If that's something you want…?"_

 _"Something doesn't add up."_

 _Asra turned to look at Kasumi, his eyebrows were knit together as he searched her face for something. He must have seen it, because he nodded to himself. "What doesn't, Kasumi?"_

 _"…Why wouldn't you tell me this sooner? Why wait until now? Why wait until I've backed you into a corner?"_

 _"Maybe I tried to tell you already. And maybe I discovered I'd made the worst kind of mistake."_

 _"Did you?"_

 _"…Yes. A few times." Asra confessed. He bent down and dipped his hand in the water, passing through the thin barrier without effort. A few fish came up to greet him, wiggling in excitement and glowing bright pink. He smiled and let them investigate. "It's a messy story, honestly. The first time I tried to trigger your memories, you went catatonic. There was nothing I could do… and I tried a lot." He sighed as he pulled his hand out of the water and dropped to sit, limbs sprawled out in front of him. He craned his neck up to the stars and watched them oscillate in endless color, then spoke up again. "So I took the memories away, whatever triggered the cascade. And you went back to normal. Aaaand then I tried again. It was so hard, keeping secrets from you. I just wanted you to know. But it broke you again. Every time I tried telling you a different way, and every time it went wrong. I didn't know what I was doing wrong. Maybe you just weren't ready…? Or maybe I wasn't strong enough to do it alone. But now you are. Coming through the fountain to this oasis… if you can do that, you're strong enough. Which… reminds me of something, actually." Asra got up and wandered over to a wobbly purple bush at the edge of the water, trailing his fingers over its leaves. "It's about you calling me master." He glanced back at her, something unreadable and intense in his expression. "Ugh. How do I put this? …I hate it. I don't want you to call me that anymore, ever."_

 _"But… why? You_ are _my master. You've taught me everything."_

 _"I… ahhh. How do I explain it…? I only returned what was already yours, Kasumi. Calling me master is beneath you. Hmmm." Asra leaned towards her, staring at her for a long moment before smiling. "I don't know how much time we have left together, tonight, but… I want to make the most of it. There's a whole world to see out here, you know. If you wanted to explore it with me." Asra clasped both Kasumi's hands in his own, excitement spreading to light up his whole face. "Well? What do you say, Kasumi?"_

'He's never offered to take me with him before. If I don't say something now, I might lose my chance.' _"I want to go with you!"_ '…That sounded too eager, didn't it? I practically blurted it out.'

 _Asra looked shocked at her for a moment before he laughed softly and then gave her a warm, side smile. "Then what are we waiting for? Ahh, I'm excited to see what we find…" He paused. "But first… let me take you to my favorite place." They both turned to the left and saw lush jungle that hadn't been there before. The world itself changed as much as the stars. Asra led them into the foliage, ducking under oversized fronds and climbing over roots as they headed deeper in. The whole time, Asra never let go of Kasumi's hand. He kept glancing back at her, as if happily surprised to see her still there. Soon, the fronds and trees gave way to a wide clearing filled with luminescent creatures. They tittered as the two of them arrived, swirling around them and bouncing in excitement. One landed on Kasumi's nose, chirping at her. "They must like you." Asra said with a smile. A few of the creatures landed in Asra's hair, settling into the fluff with contented chirps._

 _"What do they like about me?"_

 _"Hmmm. They must feel like they can tell you anything. I imagine they must feel very comfortable around you." Asra let go of Kasumi's hand and settled down in the sand, sprawling his limbs out and immediately getting comfortable. He turned his head to look up at the stars, some distant wonder in his eyes. Above them, nebulous constellations shifted and swirled. Then, when he looked back at Kasumi, the same look of wonder was still in his eyes. "Maybe you make them feel like they're home." Asra lifted his hand and the creature that had been on Kasumi's nose floated over, perching itself on one of his fingers. Kasumi dropped down to sit next to him… and slid a little closer, until their sides were pressed together. "There's something about you that calls to them." He continued. "Maybe they find they just can't take their eyes off you. …Or maybe they don't know why. There's a lot to like… how could they choose just one reason?"_

 _"Asra…" Kasumi sighed, her whole face feeling like it was on fire as she looked away._

 _Asra parted his lips, about to say something else, when a noise in the distance interrupted them. "Is that… thunder? That's never happened here before. You must have brought the rains with you, Kasumi." He looked out eagerly to where the storm had gathered, and got to his feet again. "Come on… I want to see it for myself." He took Kasumi's hand and pulled her up gently to her feet, brushing the sand off her clothes, and then lead the way._

 _The oasis soon faded into thick jungle that muffled their footsteps, thunder echoing all around them. Kasumi suddenly turned her head to a growl at the edge of her hearing, a little startled when she saw a path open up before her. She moved to ask Asra, but found that he was nowhere near. Her hand felt empty and cold. Leaves rattled as a wind picked up further down the murky path, a thin wailing moan that seemed to call her name. Something moved in the thick brush, a lurking shadow that beckoned to her._ "Kasumi…" _Shadows licked at her heels, tempting her to move, to heed the call. She only needed to take the first step…_

 _"Kasumi!" Asra pulled her tight into his arms, ripping her away from whatever compulsion had gripped her. When she glanced back, there was nothing there. No darkness, no growling shadows… just sand and sky. "Right… first thing about this place, Kasumi. It shouldn't hurt you, as long as you're careful. Going down a dark path… next time, just turn away." Asra left one arm around Kasumi as he turned them both away, watching the sand out of the corner of his eye. "Come on… I don't know how much longer the rain will last." He stayed closer to her as they followed the sound of thunder, his arm was warm and comforting around her shoulders. They turned a corner in the jungle, and Asra stopped suddenly with a sharp intake of breath, eyes wide. "Is this all… because of you?"_

 _The ground dropped off into a steep cliff in front of them, covered in shimmering mist that coalesced further into the ravine. There was the storm it was gathered in the deep chasm, black clouds streaked through with blue lightening. Water raced up from the clouds as they clung to the rocky cliffs. The droplets danced in the sky, falling upwards in spirals._

 _"I've never seen anything like this…" Asra reached out to touch the rain, and the world shifted, clouds shot up all around them. Completely drenching them both in rain as the storm righted itself. "Kasumi…" He turned to her, his free hand dropping to rest on her waist. Water clung to his eyelashes, catching magenta starlight._

 _Rain soaked his hair, trailing down his cheeks and catching on his lips. Kasumi couldn't look away. She leaned forward slowly, until there was almost no space left between them, meeting Asra's violet eyes with her light blue ones. There was something cautious and hopeful in his expression. Neither of them dared to speak and break the moment. Kasumi pressed a hand to Asra's chest, walking them both back into the rough bark of a palm tree, and he went willingly. The leaves above them grew to shelter them from the rain, the tree bending to protect them… and she kissed him like he was the air she needed to breathe. The whole world fell away until it was just them, until nothing else mattered. Arms wrapped around Kasumi as Asra surged forward, kissing her back with an edge of desperation she didn't expect. Kisses trailed down her face as he followed a path from her lips to her jaw._ 'Is he… shaking?'

 _They both pulled back for breath at the same time. "I-" The storm suddenly picked up all around them, suddenly turning fierce. Wild winds whipped at them, loud wails that drowned out what Asra was saying. He pulled them both away from the tree, deeper into the shelter of the shadowy jungle. Long shadows grew around them, darkening the jungle further. The storm stretched itself out past the ravine, calling insistently to them. "I think maybe it's time for you to go. This place… it can change on a whim. It's not smart to stay any longer. …I'm happy you came, Kasumi. Sharing this with you is an experience I'll treasure. I'll send you home then… and I'll see you soon."_

 _"See me soon?" Before Kasumi could get an answer, Asra's hand pressed gently against her eyes, obscuring her vision. Reality wobbled, the air bended around her as she fell back into the trees…_

-End flashback-

 _"Wow."_

Kasumi chuckled. "I know, right? That was only where everything really began, however."

Meanwhile, back in the palace, Nadia was lying on her bed and looking at the wall as Portia slept next to her with her arm around her waist. Nadia carefully turned over to lay on her back and wrapped her arm around Portia's shoulders, then kissed her forehead, not wanting to wake her. "I promise, no matter what happens tomorrow, I will never leave you." With those words, she closed her eyes and fell asleep.

––

*That is how my version plays out, Kasumi meets Julian in the city, like during his route, but makes it back to the palace before dawn and still meets Asra in the fountain where their relationship really begins during _his_ route. Kasumi and Julian never kiss or anything… though, do flirt a bit in the abandoned garden. Hey, don't judge! It's just fun to flirt with Julian! Also, yes, that meant that she had a _long_ day that day.

So, this chapter was just a little way to show how Julian and Kasumi's friendship evolved while she was developing her relationship with Asra. What will happen next time? What did Nadia mean when she said, "no matter what happens tomorrow"? What is tomorrow? Stay updated and find out! I'll try to add in more Portia/Nadia along with Asra/Kasumi/Julian.


	7. Dark Dealings

The next morning, Asra woke up in Julian's room and the first thing he saw was Julian fast asleep next to him. Memories of the previous night came flooding back, and he grinned. He was still surprised that Kasumi had been okay with this. He had to admit that he was relieved also, because it meant he didn't have to lie to Kasumi about his feelings towards Julian anymore. He slowly and quietly got off the bed so he didn't wake up Julian and started picking his clothes up off the floor and dressing himself. He was in the process of buttoning up his shirt when he heard Julian groan as the sheets shifted, and he turned his head just as Julian opened his eyes.

Julian looked over and yawned before smiling and leaning against his elbow. "Morning."

"Good morning, Ilya. Sleep well?"

"Definitely!" He sat up and stretched his arms, the sheets falling off his bare chest. "Dressed already? Where are you going?"

"I thought I'd go see Kasumi and we'd head back to the shop before the announcement this afternoon."

"You know, I should thank Kasumi for last night." Julian said with a laugh.

Asra chuckled. "It _was_ fun, wasn't it? Well, you know… if you ever want to do it again, you know where to find me." He wrapped his scarf around himself and grabbed his bag, bringing it over his shoulder. "Will I see you at the town square later today?"

"Yeah, absolutely. I'll be there."

"Good. Then I'll see you this afternoon." Asra then walked out of the room and started heading towards the front doors.

Meanwhile, Kasumi walked into the palace with Ember walking beside her after they'd woken up in Portia's cottage. When she saw Asra walking down the hall towards the entrance, she ran over, calling his name excitedly, "Asra! Asra! Asra!"

He chuckled at her excitement. "What? What is it?"

"You'll never guess what happened last night after you left!"

"You're probably right, I won't. What?"

Kasumi picked up Ember and smiled brightly at Asra. "Chandra must be psychic or something, because she led me straight to my familiar!"

Asra's eyes widened in shock before he smiled widely, and he was obviously just as excited as she was. "Kasumi! You finally found your familiar!" He hugged her happily. "I'm so happy for you!" He pulled away and looked at her fondly. "See? I told you that you'd find the one for you someday!"

Kasumi laughed and hugged him back. "I already did before last night, though." She heard Asra let out a happy sigh at hearing that as his arms encircled her waist again. Ember got out of Kasumi's arm to climb onto her shoulder so she wouldn't be squished between them. After the hug, Kasumi looked at Asra and asked, "Speaking of familiars, where's Faust?"

As if on cue, Faust came around the corner and slithered up Asra's leg before resting around his shoulders and looking happily at Ember. _"New friend!"_

Asra chuckled and pet Faust's head. "Right here. Where were you all last night, huh?"

 _"Tree!"_

"Oh? I should have guessed!" Asra laughed. "You always did love hanging from those branches!" He then looked back at Kasumi. "Come on. Let's head back to the shop. We'll see Ilya, Portia, and Nadia later."

"Speaking of Julian…" Kasumi smirked. "How was last night?"

Asra chuckled. "It was fun. I'm glad you talked me into it."

"I'm glad!" _'Part one: get Julian and Asra together, complete.'_ She followed Asra out of the palace and they made their way back to the shop.

The morning went by quickly, and before Asra or Kasumi knew it, it was time to head to the town square where Nadia would be making her announcement. That morning, she had sent out multiple messengers out to spread the word to the people so they would gather in the square. Not long after arriving in the square, which was already packed with people, Asra and Kasumi walked through the crowds holding hands until they found Julian standing near the podium where the announcement would be made. "Ilya," Asra called as he and Kasumi walked over. "There you are. We were looking for you."

Julian chuckled. "Well, I'm right here. Pasha and Nadia should be here any minute." He then looked at Kasumi with a smile. "By the way, I wanted to thank you for last night."

"No problem!" Kasumi laughed. "You two are good together, and I would never want to come in between you and Asra."

Asra smiled between them and took Julian's hand with his free one, so he was holding his in one had and Kasumi's in the other. "I, myself, couldn't be happier to have both of you in my life."

Kasumi kissed Asra's cheek. "You're sweet." Julian nodded in agreement with Kasumi as he squeezed Asra's hand gently.

Suddenly, there was a small commotion, and the three of them looked over to see a carriage, with Vesuvia's crest painted on the side of it, stopped at the walkway that led to the podium. Nadia got out of the carriage first wearing her usual white and see-through dress, after the driver opened the door. Portia walked out after her, wearing a finely made blue and silver strapless dress that stopped at just above her ankles. He hair was tied back as usual, but instead of her usual striped headband, she had a flowered clip holding it back. She followed right behind Nadia as she made her way up to the front of the crowd and rang a bell for silence.

Once there was silence enough for Nadia to speak, she cleared her throat and took a deep breath to calm her nerves. Public speaking had never been her strong suit, and she dreaded it, but being Vesuvia's leader, she had no choice. Once her nerves were in check, she opened her eyes and called out loud. "People of Vesuvia, today I have a very important announcement to make. As you all know, Count Lucio is gone…"

"Thank every saint out there for that, too." Asra whispered, which made Kasumi and Julian both snicker quietly.

"Therefore, I feel it only appropriate as Vesuvia's Countess to remarry."

Julian suddenly looked shocked while some people in the crowd began whispering amongst themselves.

"Allow me to introduce you to my betrothed…" She motioned Portia over and presented her to the crowd. "Portia."

"What?!" A man in the front of the crowd yelled, and Kasumi could tell he was a noble of some kind from the way he and the woman next to him – who was most likely his wife – dressed. "A laundry maid?! As a countess?!"

"I'll have you know that Portia is exactly what this city needs after all the turmoil it has endured."

"No!" Another person yelled at Nadia. "No commoners as royals!" The woman who shouted that soon had multiple people repeating the phrase.

Kasumi, Asra and Julian all exchanged looks before Kasumi let go of Asra's hand and jumped up onto the podium. She tried to quiet the crowds calmly, but when she failed to, she growled and yelled at the top of her lungs, "Quiet!" Everything went dead silent and everyone seemed to freeze. She let out a deep sigh and rubbed her temple. "Now, before you all start a riot, I want to say something. I've spent time in the palace and have gotten to know Portia as a dear friend of mine. Allow me to say that Portia has always done what is best for Vesuvia, and she has shown the grace and poise that is equal to any noble or royal out there."

While Kasumi was delivering her speech in her defense of Portia and had everyone's attention, no one seemed to notice a person in a black robe stand up on a pile of wooden crates near the back of the crowds and load an arrow into their bow. They then pointed the bow directly at Kasumi… and fired.

Kasumi suddenly fell back when the arrow pierced her chest, and the crowds started panicking, running around like mad chickens.

"Kasumi!" Asra cried and jumped up on the stage with Julian, who was looking just as concerned and they rushed over to her.

"Guards!" Nadia ordered, and a few immediately rushed over, bowing to her. "Find the person who shot Kasumi! Bring them to me!"

"Yes Countess!" The guards said and immediately formed search parties while Nadia and Portia checked on Kasumi, too.

Julian sat behind Kasumi and lifted her up a bit, so that the back of her head was lying against his stomach as Asra was inspecting the wound. The arrow had pierced her right below her left breast which seemed to be making difficult for her to breathe, meaning it was in her lung. Blood was pouring out of the wound, staining her blue colored shirt red. "Is there something you can do, Asra? Use some kind of healing magic?" Julian asked concerned as his eyes silently pleaded with Asra.

"Not this moment, no. I would need to take the arrow out first, and if I do that, she could possibly bleed to death…"

"We need to get her back to the palace, then." Nadia said.

"I agree." Julian nodded. "My medical kit is there, and I could help treat her." He slowly moved around and picked up Kasumi in his arms and carried her gently, much in the same way he had when she'd gotten bitten by that vampire eel. He brought her over to Nadia's carriage as the coach opened the door for him, and he got in, followed by Asra, Nadia and Portia. They then quickly made their way back to the palace as Kasumi sat on Julian's lap, her head against the crook of his neck as her hand gripped her wound. She was breathing shallowly through gritted teeth as the pain seemed endless, and Asra was running his fingers through her hair to try and keep her calm. Portia sat across from her brother as they rode, completely silent, just staring at Kasumi while Nadia was biting her nails nervously.

When the five of them finally made it to the palace, they let Julian out first since he was the one carrying Kasumi, and he ran through the gates and up the steps to the doors with Asra right behind him. Nadia and Portia both nervously took their time getting out and going through the gates. Nadia turned to one of the gate guards and ordered, "If someone comes here with information about this would-be assassin, send them to me immediately." The guard nodded his head and bowed. When they walked through the gates, Nadia noticed Portia looking distraught and frowned. "What's wrong?"

"Kasumi got up on that podium to try and defend me…" Her head was bowed sadly. "If something happens to her… it would be my fault."

Nadia's frown deepened before she pulled Portia into a hug. "It's not your fault. I admit… things could have gone a lot smoother today, but the last thing you should do is blame yourself."

Meanwhile, Kasumi was being rushed into Julian's room, and once in there, he laid her on the bed very carefully as Asra rushed in behind him. After Kasumi was comfortable, Julian stood up and rushed over to the chest in the far side of the room where he kept his medical equipment.

Asra slowly walked over to the bed and kneeled down beside it as he glanced at Kasumi's face, and she looked back at him, pain evident in her eyes. He frowned as tears started welling up in his eyes.

At Asra and Kasumi's shop, Faust and Ember had been spending their time playing while their magicians were at the meeting in the square. They both sensed their others distress and Faust slithered onto Ember's back, lightly gripped her tail around Ember's stomach so that she wouldn't fall off. Of course, Faust could slither quite quickly when she wanted to, but not as fast or for as long as Ember could run. Ember then climbed up through an open window on the first floor and jumped out, immediately taking off towards the palace.

Back in Julian's room, he was sitting on the bed next to Kasumi who was still lying there, and he took her shirt off enough to see the wound. "Ah… it's worse than I thought…" He breathed out, but quickly got to work anyway. After taking out bandages and a few other things, he turned back to Kasumi. "I have to take the arrow out to fully heal you. I'm not going to lie, either… this is going to hurt. It's best if I just do it quickly." He handed her a cloth. "Here, bite into this."

Kasumi took the cloth from Julian and put it in her mouth, biting down on it and gripped the headboard of the bed, bracing herself for the pain. As Julian gripped the shaft of the arrow, she flinched slightly, but when he took a deep breath and suddenly tore it out of her, she screamed in pain through the cloth. Asra didn't know whether he was going to break down into tears or vomit; he ended up doing both.

A few hours later, Kasumi suddenly woke up with a start as a loud clang happened when Julian accidently knocked a decanter onto the floor. Julian immediately crawled onto the bed next to her and placed his hand on her forehead. "I'm so glad I didn't kill you." He said with a sigh of relief. "How are you feeling?"

Kasumi moved a bit, and there was a dull pain in her wound as she did so, but it wasn't nearly as bad as it had been before, so she answered, "Better."

"Good." Asra smiled as he crawled onto the bed on the other side of her, kissing her on the lips gently. "You really gave everyone quite the scare. Look who even came to check on you." He motioned towards Ember and Faust as they got onto the bed also. Ember immediately went up and pressed her head against Kasumi's, nudging her lovingly while Faust wrapped herself around Kasumi's arm and squeezed it.

Kasumi laughed. "I love you both, too." She pet Ember and Faust on their heads. She then turned her head to look at Julian. "So, you saved my life again. How many life debts do I owe you now?"

Julian barked out a laugh. "This one's on the house!"

"You've saved her before?" Asra asked.

"I never told you that story?" Kasumi asked him, and he shook his head. "Oh. Well, let me tell you now, then." She then told Asra the whole story about how Julian had saved her life after she'd fallen into the reservoir and nearly been drained of her blood by a vampire eel.

"I just wish I'd been able to save you when you were dying of the plague…" Julian frowned.

"You have to bring that up now?" Asra asked.

"Well, we're on the topic of me saving her, so…"

Kasumi cut Julian off by placing her hand on top of his. "Don't think about that anymore. Because of Asra, I came back, and because of you, I'm still here. You really need to stop beating yourself up over the past, Ilya." Kasumi laughed, then realized what she'd just said and corrected herself. "Uh, I mean, Julian. Sorry."

Julian chuckled. "Don't be sorry. I wouldn't mind you calling me Ilya."

"All right. Ilya it is!" Kasumi smiled.

Asra chuckled and laid down on Julian's bed beside Kasumi, gently placing his hand on her stomach as he yawned. "Damn. It's been a long day."

"Yeah." Julian agreed as he yawned, too, and laid down on the other side of Kasumi, placing his hand on top of Asra's over Kasumi. Ember then laid down above Kasumi's head, and Faust laid on Kasumi, her tail over Asra and Julian's intertwined hands.

"I just woke up, and now, I'm going back to bed?" Kasumi joked.

Julian chuckled with his eye closed. "Hush and go to sleep. It'll help you heal."

"Yes, and don't worry, Kasumi. Ilya and I will watch over you." Asra kissed Kasumi's forehead before placing his head back on the pillow and closing his eyes.

Kasumi looked back and forth between Julian and Asra as they slept on either side of her, cuddling with her, and she smiled happily as she closed her eyes too.

A few minutes later, Nadia and Portia entered the room quietly to check on Kasumi, and found the three of them, along with Ember and Faust, fast asleep. Nadia just let out a silent laugh and ushered Portia back out of the room, closing the door quietly. "We shouldn't disturb them."

"They all looked comfortable…" Portia said, but her tone sounded worried. "It's weird, isn't it? I mean, I catch Asra and Julian almost having sex in the cottage, and Kasumi just seems completely all right with it. Now, the three of them are sleeping together in the same bed? What is going on?"

"Maybe Kasumi is simply open to Asra being with Julian, and that's why it doesn't bother her. I mean, Lucio was always fine with me having other lovers."

"Yeah, but you two were never in love. I mean, would you be fine with me having a lover?"

"No." Nadia said, sternly.

"Exactly. So, why would Kasumi be okay with Asra and Julian being together? Doesn't she love him?"

"I know she does." Nadia answered, "But it is _their_ relationship, Portia, so is it really any of our business how they go about it?"

"If they drag my brother into it, then yes. It _does_ become my business." Portia argued, and Nadia just let out a deep sigh.

Meanwhile, deep in the flooded district of the city, the hooded person who'd attempted to assassinate Kasumi walked in between two of the abandoned buildings and into a dark alley. "It's done."

Another hooded figure walked out of the shadows. It was the same figure that had assaulted Kasumi in the shop a couple days earlier. "You remembered to poison the arrow?"

"Please, I was a doctor. I would never overlook such a detail." They put their hood down and flashed their pointed teeth in an evil grin.

"And they think everything is fine?"

"Of course. The poison won't take effect for another three days, but by the time they realize it…" They made a slashing motion with their finger across their throat, and they still had that hideous evil grin.

The other one put his hood down, his black and blonde hair gleaming in the little moonlight there was, and grinned back. "Excellent."

––

Ooooooo! Suspense! I love a good cliffhanger, don't you? *Evil smirk* Muwahaha!

…Ahem! Pardon that little evil bit of me that took over for a moment. Leave a review telling me who you think the two mystery men are! A cookie to the first person who gets it right!

I hope you're all enjoying this story! Let me know of any comments you have, and I will start the next chapter as soon as I am able!


	8. Confessions

The next morning, Kasumi woke up first after being tickled on the nose by Ember's tail as she slept. Kasumi let out a quiet chuckle and batted Ember's tail away before she realized she was still lying in between Asra and Julian, and she smiled. She let out a happy sigh and slowly got up. She was careful not to wake any of them as she got up and went to pick up her shirt off the floor that Julian had taken off her yesterday to examine her arrow wound. She was going to put it back on since she was now only wearing her breast band and the bandages around her wound. However, the shirt was stained red with blood, so she just dropped it back onto the floor and walked over to Julian's dresser. She began looking through his clothes to find something, and she saw one of his usual white buttoned shirts, so she decided to put that on before she cast one last glance at him, Asra, Faust and Ember and left.

Kasumi started wandering through the hallways until she came across the dining area where she saw Nadia and Portia. She smiled and headed inside, "Good morning, you two."

They both turned to look at her, and Nadia smiled. "Ah, good morning, Kasumi. Care to join us for breakfast?"

"If you don't mind." Kasumi walked further in and sat down to the left of Nadia, across from Portia.

"Of course not." Nadia chuckled. "You are welcome anytime, you know that." She took a sip of her drink. "So, how are you feeling? Any lingering pain?"

"A bit, but that's to be expected, isn't it?"

"Of course." Nadia turned to one of the servants. "Bring some breakfast for Kasumi, please."

"Yes, Countess." The servant said with a bow of her head and left for the kitchens.

Portia, Nadia and Kasumi started talking amongst themselves until the door of the dining room opened again as Asra and Julian walked in with Faust wrapped around Asra's shoulders. Ember also ran in and jumped right into Kasumi's lap, and Kasumi pet her soft red fur. Asra walked up behind Kasumi and kissed her forehead. "Good morning."

"Good morning." Kasumi smiled.

"Is that one of my shirts?" Julian asked as he pointed at the shirt she was wearing.

"Huh?" She looked down at the shirt she was wearing, then laughed a bit, sheepishly. "Um, yeah. My shirt is ruined, so I figured I'd borrow one of yours. You don't mind, do you?"

"No, of course not." Julian chuckled. "Besides, you look good in it." He tossed her a wink, and she blushed a bit, causing Asra to chuckle as he sat next to Kasumi, and Julian sat on the other side of Asra.

"Why didn't you simply ask for new clothes, Kasumi?" Nadia asked. "You know you can ask me for anything."

"Well, I didn't want to walk out of the room not wearing a shirt." Kasumi joked, "If I was a guy, I probably could have, but… not with these." She gestured to her breasts, and Julian couldn't help but burst out laughing while Asra, Nadia and Portia chuckled also.

"Fair point, but I can get you some clean clothes to wear now."

"No, that's all right." Kasumi chuckled. "This shirt is quite comfortable." She rubbed the fabric on her arms, then looked at Julian. "You don't mind me keeping it for a bit, do you?"

"Of course not." Julian smiled. "Like I said, you look good in it."

After breakfast, the five of them stayed in the dining room for a bit longer to talk, and the conversation had gone back to what had happened yesterday. Julian was the first to speak up about the subject as he turned to his sister. "You know, you told us that you and Nadia were together, but you never said anything about getting married."

"Well, we had to keep some things a secret until the announcement, you know?" Nadia chuckled.

"Yeah," Portia sighed and looked down at her hands that were folded on her lap. "But now, I don't even think the marriage will happen."

Nadia looked worried and asked, "Why not?"

"You heard what the people said, Nadi." Portia explained. "They don't want a commoner as a countess."

"Yeah, well… it's not _their_ decision to make, is it?" Asra asked.

Nadia let out a sad sigh. "No, but… at the same time, if enough people demand it… it is true that it may not happen."

Kasumi frowned and looked down at Ember who was still sitting on her lap and pet her head. The whole room was silent as no one really knew what to say, but Kasumi then got an idea and stood up as Ember jumped off. "You know what you two need? A break. Why don't you take the day off and… well, maybe the five of us can do something together?"

"Like?"

"I don't know." Kasumi shrugged, then looked out the window and smiled. "It's a beautiful day, though. Maybe we could spend the day on the beach."

"The ocean is beautiful this time of year." Asra agreed, then turned to Nadia. "Also, I do think it's a good idea for the two of you to leave the palace and spend the day with us commoners."

Nadia let out a hum in thought and exchanged a look with Portia before smiling and giving them a small nod. "Sounds like fun."

About an hour later, the five of them were on the beach with the crystal blue water gently lapping on the shore. "I can tell this is going to be a good day." Julian said as he gazed out over the water's horizon. He then smirked. "Last one in the water is a rotten egg!" He said as he took his shirt off and took off towards the water.

Asra laughed and took off his shirt. "Well, it's not going to be me!" He then took off after Julian and ran into the water also.

"What a couple of overgrown-" Nadia was about to say "kids" when Julian suddenly splashed her with water. She glared at him. "All right, that's it." She charged into the water and tackled Julian, so he would go under, and Kasumi laughed with Portia before they joined in, too. Pretty soon, the five of them were all in the water and having a blast as they splashed each other and played in the shallows.

A few minutes later, Kasumi looked over and saw Faust in the water only a foot or so from the shore and had her tail held out towards a very timid looking Ember. Ember put one of her paws in the water as it lapped on the beach before taking a step back. Faust seemed to keep encouraging her, though, and pretty soon, Ember took a couple steps into the water. She lightly bit Faust's tail to help her stay afloat as she walked out further, but definitely not hard enough to cause Faust any pain. Faust gently coaxed Ember out further and had her doggy paddle so her head remained above water. Kasumi let out a laugh and pointed the two of them out to everyone, "Look at that. Faust is teaching Ember how to swim!"

The rest of them looked over to see it too, and Asra chuckled. "I knew those two would be best friends!"

"I didn't even know snakes knew how to swim." Julian said, sounding surprised at the realization.

"Of course they do. After all, Faust and I grew up on the docks and she spent a lot of time on the water with me."

"You grew up on the docks?" Julian frowned. "You never told me that. I'm glad you got out, Asra."

"Me, too."

Once Ember got the hang of it, she let go of Faust's tail and started paddling on her own. Soon, she gained enough confidence to head out further to where the others were and went straight to Kasumi. Kasumi laughed and picked up Ember, giving her a hug, "You are doing great!" She gently placed Ember back in the water where she started swimming laps around them, soon followed by Faust.

They all spent a little more time in waist-deep water before Kasumi decided to head up on an empty dock, and was joined by Ember, Asra, Faust and Julian. Portia and Nadia decided to go up on the beach and relax on the sand to enjoy the beautiful weather. Kasumi walked to the very end of the dock and sat down before Asra sat next to her and Julian sat on the other side of him. Kasumi leaned back on her hands as she looked out over the water, and from where they were, they could easily see the Lazaret on the horizon. Kasumi just stared out to the island before she let out a deep sigh.

"What's the matter, Kasumi?" Julian asked.

Asra followed Kasumi's gaze to the island and asked before Kasumi could answer, "It still haunts your memory sometimes, doesn't it?" She nodded. "Mine, too. Even after our trip there, it still represents the worst period of my life."

Julian realized what they were talking about and let out a deep sigh himself. "That place wouldn't be nearly so haunting if it weren't for Lucio."

"It is a terrible place," Kasumi agreed, but then smiled and turned to the two of them. "But at the same time… I'm glad the plague happened."

The four of them all looked at her with surprised expressions. _"Why?"_ Faust asked her.

"Because if the plague hadn't happened, Asra and I never would have met Ilya, remember? I met him when I became his apprentice after my argument with Asra, and Asra met him when they were both hired by the Count to find a cure after he got sick. So, in a way, meeting Ilya was the silver lining in that horrible situation."

Julian looked shocked before his whole face turned red and he chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "Wow. That's, uh… that's probably the nicest thing that anyone's ever said about me."

Asra laughed. "You're blushing, Ilya."

"Sh-shut up!" He said, embarrassed, and Asra laughed with Kasumi.

Suddenly, Ember looked up at Kasumi and said, _"Tell them dreams."_

 _"You think I should now?"_ Kasumi asked Ember back inside her head. She had told Ember about her dreams after she sensed them from Kasumi while she was asleep.

 _"Yes."_

Kasumi was silent for a moment as she thought everything through, then gazed back at Asra and Julian. "Asra… Ilya…" They both looked at her, and she took a deep breath before continuing. "There's something I have to tell both of you."

"What is it?" Asra asked, worriedly, afraid something was wrong.

"Well, you're both probably wondering why I've been so insistent on seeing the two of you together. I've been hiding it for too long, and you two should know." She bit her lip and tried to think of what to say next. "Asra, remember how I told you that I had a dream that got me thinking about your past with Ilya?"

"Yes…?"

"Well, that was true, but not the whole truth… if that makes any sense."

"Kasumi, you're killing me with the anticipation here." Julian said. "Please just tell us what you're talking about."

"I've been having dreams every night about the three of us. Not just the two of you, but all three of us… together."

"You mean, like… in a relationship?" Julian looked beyond shocked.

"Yes. A three-way relationship. I haven't said anything before now because I know it sounds strange, but… well, the two of you are practically together again now. So…" She pet Ember on the head. "Ember convinced me to tell you both." Julian and Asra exchanged their shocked looks with each other before looking back at Kasumi at the same time to see her looking back at them. "What?"

"You're… not joking, are you?"

"Of course not. I would never joke about something like this."

Asra rubbed the back of his neck. "So, that's what this has all been about. You don't just want Ilya and I together, you want the three of us together." Kasumi nodded.

"A three-way relationship, huh?" Julian asked, sounding contemplative. He looked out over the horizon as he continued thinking, then chuckled. "I wouldn't be against it."

"Really?" Kasumi and Asra asked at the same time.

"Well, yeah. I mean, I haven't really thought about it before, but I do know that I feel something for both of you."

"You really mean that?" Asra asked.

"…Yes." He confessed, biting his lower lip as his face turned red. "After all, Kasumi, you're a beautiful, talented, charming and brave woman. I can't deny that you've been on my mind since that night you and I saw each other in the South End district of the city. And Asra, I've… always had feelings for you, since we first met. Even though I always knew your heart belonged elsewhere, I still couldn't stop myself from falling in love with you."

Kasumi smiled and held her hands over her heart. "Aw! That was so beautiful!"

Asra chuckled as his face turned a bit red also. "It was," He gave Julian a kiss on the cheek, and looked at him, then at Kasumi. "And as long as we're all being honest here… well, you both should already know how I feel towards you. I was concerned about it before, but now… well, maybe this could work." He smiled softly.

Kasumi beamed happily. "You mean it?"

"Yes. If Ilya is alright with it also, that is."

Julian chuckled deeply. "Of course! I think this could work out, too!"

Kasumi practically squealed in delight and tackled them both in a hug, one arm wrapped around each of them. "I'm so happy you both want this like I do! I am the luckiest woman in the world!"

Asra and Julian both hugged her back as Julian spoke up saying, "I never really put much stock in fate, but… maybe this is it."

Kasumi pulled away as she laughed. "Ilya, you said the exact same thing in one of my dreams…" She paused then added, "Come to think of it… in that dream, we were at the beach."

Asra chuckled and placed one of his hands on Kasumi's waist. "Perhaps those dreams were bits of what the future holds. Stranger things than that have occurred, after all."

Suddenly, Nadia and Portia came running up the docks and stopped a couple feet from them. "Kasumi! Ilya! Asra!" Portia said their names as she panted a bit.

"What? What's wrong?" Julian asked as he stood up in worry.

"A couple of the guards came and told Portia and I that Valerius and Valdemar… they've both vanished from the dungeons."

Julian, Asra and Kasumi all looked horrified at that news.

––

All right, so I decided to rewrite the end of this chapter, because I thought it turned out stupidly before. I think this one is much better, and it leaves you all with a bit of suspense again! Hehehehehe!

So, you probably had all guessed it, but the cookie goes to _GoddessOfTheCarries_ for correctly saying that the two people from the last chapter were indeed Valerius and Valdemar! Also, will they figure out that the two of them have poisoned Kasumi before it's too late? Or is she destined to die all over again?

Please, let me know what you think, or if you have any suggestions! Until the next chapter!


	9. Danger

After Nadia and Portia told Kasumi, Asra and Julian the news, they all immediately took off back to the palace, so they could go to the dungeons and see for themselves if Valerius and Valdemar were indeed missing. Once getting to the palace, they headed down to the sub-basement, which had been converted into a dungeon/torture chamber by Lucio, but now only served as a simple jail. Nadia immediately led them over to one of the three cells that held her ex-courtiers, where Valerius and Valdemar were supposed to be. To everyone's surprise, however, they immediately saw Valdemar as they leaned against the bars of the cell.

When they saw them, they flashed their pointed teeth in a hideous smile. "Well, well, well. Hello Countess. Do what do I owe the pleasure of a personal visit?"

"Cut the shit, Valdemar!" Nadia growled. "Where is Valerius?" Valdemar simply pointed to the other side of the cell where Valerius was sitting. "Valerius!"

"I hear you, you don't have to shout." Valerius growled at her as he glared. "What are you doing down here? I figured a run-down place like this would be safe from the high and mighty Countess Nadia, who hates getting dirty." He said sarcastically.

Nadia glared at him harsher. "Very funny."

"We had heard that the two of you had gone missing." Portia spoke up. "Where have you been?"

"I don't know what you could mean. We've been stuck here ever since our dear Count Lucio left this world for good." Valdemar said. They let out a disappointed sigh and said, "It's a pity Lucio could not come back for long." Their red eyes almost seemed to light up with joy as they added, "I would have relished the opportunity to witness another onset of the plague." They turned their head and their eyes fell on Kasumi as their smile widened. "I especially would have loved to get the chance to dissect someone who died of the plague _twice_."

Julian growled as Asra took a step in front of Kasumi defensively. "Over my dead body!"

"Oh, Doctor Devorak, that could be easily arranged."

"Enough with the mind games, Valdemar!" Nadia yelled. "Someone tried to assassinate Kasumi the other day!"

Valerius scoffed as his golden eyes glared at Kasumi. "It seems not to have taken."

"You can thank Doctor Devorak's expertise for that." Nadia said, and Julian smirked victoriously at the two prisoners. "You two wouldn't happen to know anything about it, would you?"

"How could we?" Valerius asked. "You really believe that we broke out only to come back? What would be the point of that?" His hands gripped the bars in front of Nadia, so he could be face-to-face with her.

While everyone else seemed focused on Valerius and Valdemar, Faust and Ember looked at each other before sneaking off and finding their way into the cell without anyone noticing. Once in there, Ember took refuge under one of the cots while Faust found a nice hole in the stone wall just small enough for her to squeeze into. They had decided to try and spy on Valerius and Valdemar after everyone left, so were thankful that no one had noticed them go in.

"Well, you both have a reason to see Kasumi out of the picture." Portia pointed out.

"Exactly." Nadia agreed. "Especially you, Valerius. You've been trying to get rid of Kasumi since the day you met her at the luncheon. After all, you were Lucio's little fuck toy, so it's possible you knew he was going to come back, and you were trying to get rid of Kasumi, so he could."

"Watch yourself, Countess." Valerius said lowly. "You will get what's coming to you!"

"You do know that threatening Nadia is an extension on your sentence, right?"

"Shut up, laundry maid! If anyone here is nothing more than someone's fuck toy, it's you!"

Julian's hands clenched into fists at that and before he even knew what he was doing, he punched Valerius in the face through the bars with so much force it knocked him on his ass. "Don't you ever talk that way about my sister!"

"She's your sister?" Valdemar asked, then smirked as they glanced in between Portia and Julian. " _That_ I did not know."

"You stay the hell away from her, you psychopath!"

Asra walked up and gently placed his hand on Julian's shoulder. "Ilya, calm down. Neither of them can do anything to her," He cast a glance at Valdemar warily. "Or to anyone anymore."

"You're so sure about that, are you, magician?" Valdemar grinned.

Asra glared. "Yes. I am." He then turned to Nadia. "Come on, it's obvious they're not going to tell us anything, even if they do know what happened."

Nadia nodded in agreement before turning towards one of the guards and ordering, "Do not let them out of your sight for even a moment. Alert me at the first mention of them disappearing."

"Yes Countess!" The guard replied as she stood up straight and saluted. "24 hour watch!"

"Good." With that, Nadia left and was followed closely behind by Portia and Julian.

Asra and Kasumi followed after them, too, but were farther behind. As they walked, Kasumi heard Valdemar say to her, "Hope you enjoy what little life has to offer you now, Apprentice." Kasumi went to turn around and tell them off, but Asra stopped her before she did.

"Don't look back and don't say anything. He's just trying to get a rise out of you." The two of them then left for good, the heavy, reinforced wooden door to the dungeon closing behind them.

Once the five of them were gone, Valerius stood up and wiped his mouth from where Julian had punched him. Both of them still seemingly unaware of Faust's and Ember's presence. "Kasumi seems to not be affected at all…"

"Relax." Valdemar said. "It hasn't been three days yet, and they all suspect nothing."

"I guess I'm just impatient." Valerius growled as he glared at the door. "After all, it's only because of Kasumi that the plan to assassinate Nadia was ruined."

"Really?" Valdemar looked at their cell partner as they leaned back against the wall and placed the tips of their gloved fingers together in an almost evil manner as a smirk formed. "Is that the _only_ reason you wish to see her dead?"

Valerius glared. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Please, Valerius. Everyone knows about your past relationship with Lucio. No matter how much you deny it, you enjoyed being his sex slave. So, maybe… you also wish to see Kasumi die for being the main cause of Lucio's final demise?"

"…"

Back upstairs, Nadia stopped by the doors to the ballroom and let out a sigh as she rubbed her temple. "What am I going to do with them?"

"If you ask me, Valerius's perfect braid would make a very handsome trophy."

"Julian!" Nadia scolded, but her tone held amusement.

"No, I'm serious. You can put your hair into a fine braid as well, and then, cut his off as a way of showing you have the best braid in all of Vesuvia!"

They all laughed at that suggestion and Kasumi spoke up. "Ilya, you come up with the strangest ideas."

"Ilya?" Portia asked. "Since when did _you_ start calling him Ilya?"

"I told her she could." Julian answered.

Asra nodded, and then changed the subject. "Speaking of Ilya, the three of us were wondering if Kasumi and I could possibly, hm… borrow him for the night."

"Borrow him?" Portia asked skeptically as her arms folded across her chest.

"Yes. After all, there's not really much use for me here at the palace right now. There are no diseases or anything going around, so what's the use of a doctor being here?" Julian shrugged. "Besides, Kasumi and I really need to start rehearsing for our roles in the play."

"Oh? You two are going to be in a play together?" Nadia asked, sounding intrigued.

"Yes. We're the lead characters. It would be quieter at the shop than it would be here."

"All right. You can go, then," Nadia agreed. "But you know… you were never stuck here. You may come and go as you please, you don't need my permission."

Julian laughed. "I'll keep that in mind!"

"Wait…" Portia said and grabbed Julian's arm. "Can you all excuse us for a minute?" Without waiting for an answer, she dragged her brother off down the hall.

"What's wrong with Portia?" Kasumi asked.

Nadia sighed. "She seems to think that the two of you are intent on using Julian."

Back with Portia and Julian, she dragged him out onto the veranda overlooking the garden and stopped. "Pasha, what's wrong?" He asked after she finally let go of his arm.

"Ilya, I know that you're a grown man and you can do what you want, but… what are you getting yourself into now?" She sighed as she turned to look at him.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, what is going on between you, Asra and Kasumi? After all, I catch you and Asra almost ready to fuck each other on the floor of my cabin and Kasumi seemed completely fine with it. Now, you three are sleeping in the same bed and she's calling you Ilya… plus, they're asking to "borrow" you? Can't you explain to me what is going on?"

Julian shook his head with a sigh. "All you had to do was ask, Pasha. If you really want to know, the three of us have recently decided to enter into a relationship."

"A relationship? You mean, like… they want you as an extra in the bedroom?"

"No. I mean a _real_ relationship between the three of us, more than just sex."

"A… three-way relationship?" Portia looked confused. "Is that even possible?"

"I'm confident the three of us can make it work."

Portia looked unconvinced. "Are you truly sure you know what you're getting yourself into? I know Asra broke your heart before, and the two of them have been together for a while now, so do you really believe you can just enter the relationship so simply?"

"I know you're concerned about me, Pasha, but don't be. I know they both care about me, just like I care about both of them. I'm really happy, so don't worry. Now, I should probably be getting back to them. Kasumi and I really _do_ have to rehearse, after all." He gave his sister a hug. "I'll see you later."

Portia watched her brother walk back inside and simply let out a defeated sigh.

A little more than an hour later, Asra was sitting on his and Kasumi's bed in the upper floor of the shop as he watched Julian and Kasumi rehearse their lines with one another and acting as if they were on stage. Right now, they were practicing a part at the very beginning of the play, where the two main characters meet as kids, but then have to leave one another. "Antonio, do we truly have to part ways here?" Kasumi asked Julian. "Is there no way for us to stay together longer?"

"Alas, dear Aurora, as much as it pains my heart to say this, we have no choice. I truly hope we may see each other again one day, but for now, this is farewell." Julian and Kasumi had their hands that were intertwined break apart as they stepped away from each other, showing them going in opposite directions.

Kasumi looked over and saw Asra tearing up. "Asra, what's wrong?"

He rubbed his eyes and sniffed. "Sorry, it's just… that part reminds me of when you and I first said goodbye after meeting."

"It really tugged at your heartstrings, huh?" Julian asked, and Asra nodded. "Good, that means we're doing a good job."

Kasumi chuckled and walked over to the bed, sitting next to Asra after setting her script aside. "I think that's enough rehearsing for now. Besides, the play hasn't even been officially announced yet. We have plenty of time."

"Yeah." Julian agreed as he tossed his copy aside, too. He walked over to the bed and got on the other side of Asra before moving behind him and placing his hands on Asra's shoulders. Asra looked back and smiled at him before leaning against his chest and closing his eyes as he let out a contented sigh.

Kasumi smiled at seeing that. "Comfortable, Asra?" He simply nodded with a soft smile playing on his lips. She laughed and moved closer, running her fingers through his silver curly hair. She watched as Julian's hands slowly started rubbing his shoulders, causing Asra to let out a moan. Kasumi bit her bottom lip as she watched this and felt herself getting turned on by it. She was then struck with an idea and smirked. "Ilya, Asra… would the two of you be willing to do something for me?"

"What do you have in mind?" Julian asked.

"Well, I've been wondering about that night in Portia's cottage. I never really got to see what happened after you two got on the floor because the table was in the way." She smiled. "So, do you think you two could… replay what happened before Portia showed up? I'd really like to see it for myself."

Julian laughed. "Would that turn you on, Kasumi? Seeing that?"

"I already kind of am, but that would definitely help, yes."

Julian looked down at Asra as he looked back up at him. "What do you think, Asra?"

Asra gave a small smirk. "I say if she wants a show, let's give her a show."

"Yes!" Kasumi couldn't help but cheer happily as Asra and Julian got off the bed and stood up facing each other while Kasumi got comfortable.

Asra placed his hands on Julian's chest as he stood in front of him. "I suppose we should start with a kiss, like we did before." He then licked his lips and pressed his lips against Julian's. Julian let out a quiet moan and wrapped his arms around Asra's waist, pulling him closer and kissing him back. Asra's lips curled into a smile against Julian's lips before they opened as an invitation to Julian's tongue. Once Julian slipped his tongue into Asra's waiting mouth, Asra moved his hands up and gripped his fingers in Julian's hair as he sucked on his tongue, and Julian let out a groan.

Kasumi watched this all happen with her eyes lit up in excitement. She watched as Julian unbuttoned Asra's shirt and opened it up, exposing the soft skin on his chest, but was still on him. She then licked her lips as she watched Julian slowly drop himself and Asra to the floor, never breaking their kiss.

Once on the floor, Julian broke the kiss and leaned over Asra, seeing the exact same look on his face as he had that night in Portia's cottage. His hands were being held over his head as his shirt clung to his arms, but was wide open. One of Julian's hands was on the left side of Asra as he held himself up and the other was against Asra's lower stomach, the palm of it against the waistband of his pants.* He saw Asra lick his lips while staring at him to entice him further, and Julian chuckled. "What do you want me to do, Asra?"

"Maybe you could jerk him off?" Kasumi suggested excitedly. "Or maybe use your mouth?"

"Oh, hey, Kasumi. How long have you been there?" Julian joked.

"Very funny." Kasumi laughed.

Julian chuckled before turning his attention back to Asra. "Well, you _did_ say let's give her a show." He undid Asra's pants and pulled them down to his knees, not even bothering to take them off all the way before he gripped Asra's cock in his hand and slowly started massaging it up and down, making Asra moan out in pleasure. Watching Asra get jerked off by Julian as he laid on the floor moaning, Kasumi felt herself getting even more turned on. She slid down further onto the bed to let herself lay down and still watch as one of her hands reached underneath her shirt and started massaging her breast while the other slipped underneath her skirt and slowly touched her clit. Julian noticed this and chuckled, "Liking this, Kasumi?" She just nodded in response as she kept watching and touching herself. "Then, I'm sure you're going to _love_ this." He leaned down and took the tip of Asra's hard erection into his mouth, sucking on it hungrily.

"Fuck…" Asra sighed out in pleasure as he felt Julian's mouth engulf his cock and he reached down, tugging on Julian's amber hair roughly, which made Julian moan.

Kasumi moaned. "Oh yeah, I bet that feels good, Asra."

"Mmm, it does." Asra agreed and thrusted into Julian's mouth a bit.

"I bet he gives better blowjobs than I do." At seeing the slightly guilty look on Asra's face, Kasumi laughed and assured him, "It's okay. You can be honest. I won't be offended."

"I feel a bit bad saying it, but… yes, he does."

Kasumi laughed again after Julian moaned in appreciation at that. "I suppose I'll leave that to him from now on, then. As long as I can practice on Ilya, that is."

Julian pulled his mouth away from Asra's member but kept stroking it with his hand as he smirked at Kasumi. "Absolutely. I am at your mercy." He and Asra both watched as Kasumi stood up from the bed and went over to where they were lying, rubbing her hand against Julian's hard-on through his pants. He bit his bottom lip as she did and the hand that was around Asra's member squeezed around it a bit in reflex, causing Asra to groan. "Sorry, am I hurting you?"

"No." Asra shook his head, tugging Julian down by his hair. "Keep going." Julian's response to that was to toss Asra a smirk and take his cock back into his mouth.

Kasumi watched as she squeezed Julian, causing him to moan, which in turn pleasured Asra further. _'I'm like the puppet master!'_ Kasumi thought with a smirk and kept experimenting by trying different speeds and variations of grip. She then started taking Julian's pants off, and he lifted his hips as she pulled them down to make it easier before she flicked her hair to the side so it wouldn't be in the way, licked her lips, and leaned down, taking Julian's hard length in her mouth.

"Mmph!" Julian moaned, it being muffled a bit by Asra's presence in his mouth, but still loud enough for both to hear. He began going faster, bobbing his head up and down as his hand did the same on the bottom part, moaning louder as Kasumi worked her mouth on him. He suddenly pulled his mouth away and jokingly said to Asra, "Are you sure I'm better?" He groaned when Kasumi sucked on him harder. "Seems like she's great at it!"

Asra chuckled as he looked down, watching Kasumi pleasure Julian. "I never said she was bad at it, I just said you were better."

Kasumi pulled away from Julian's cock with a slurp and sat up, licking her lips as her eyes glinted mischievously. "Why don't we test his abilities even further, Asra?"

Asra smirked as he sat up also, his shirt completely falling down his arms. "What are you thinking?"

Kasumi went over to a chest on the side of the room and dug through it for a moment before coming back over with some red string and making a turn over motion to Julian. "Lay on your stomach." Julian did what he was told without hesitation, obviously loving being told what to do. Kasumi went over and took the red string, tying Julian's hands together behind his back and making sure he wouldn't get them free. Once she was done with that, she moved back a bit and ordered, "Now, turn over."

Julian turned over so he was lying on his tied up arms and looking at Kasumi, biting his lip, obviously extremely turned on. "Now what?"

Kasumi looked at Asra. "Think you can see how long he'll last with you riding him?" She winked.

Asra's violet eyes lit up with as he stood and took his shirt and pants off completely so he wasn't wearing anything at all. "Kasumi, you have no idea how much I can wear Ilya out."

"Then show me." She challenged. She sat back, leaning against the wall behind her as she watched with excitement as Asra crawled on Julian's lap and hovered over his stiff manhood as Julian watched him, silently pleading for him to take his cock. Kasumi moaned and began touching herself once more as Asra slowly impaled himself on Julian's cock, making them both moan in pleasure.

"Fuck!" Julian growled as Asra went down further. "I never thought you could get any tighter than you were last time." Asra smirked and reached down, running his fingers through Julian's hair before tugging on it hard, causing Julian to let out a groan in appreciation. "You know I love it when you pull my hair."

"I _do_ know." Asra leaned over him with his free hand holding himself up on the side of Julian's head. "I also know you love being told what to do…" His tongue slipped out of his mouth and slid all the way up Julian's neck. "And being bitten and scratched." He bit down onto Julian's neck as he suddenly slammed himself the rest of the way onto his cock, and Julian tossed his head back as he cried out in sheer bliss.

 _'Damn, this is even hotter than any of my dreams!'_ Kasumi thought as she took her shirt off, and then slipped off her skirt so she could spread her legs and pleasure herself better. She rubbed her clit faster as she watched Asra sit up and start grinding his hips with Julian inside him.

"Fuck yes!" Asra groaned as his head fell back and his cock twitched when Julian hit just the right spot inside him. That made him lose his composure and start riding Julian hard and fast. Julian moaned loudly as Asra rode him and his hips kept bucking up in time with his thrusts to increase the pleasure even further. "Ilya!" Asra growled, and his nails racked themselves down Julian's chest.

Kasumi was loving this as she slipped two of her fingers inside herself and started moving her hips in much the same way Asra's hips were moving against Julian.

From the excitement of being watched by Kasumi, Asra's erratic movements, and the utter pleasure he derived from being dominated, Julian couldn't hold out anymore and suddenly came inside Asra with a deep groan of his name. After coming back to Earth, he realized Asra had stopped his movements and was looking at him disappointedly while Kasumi looked a bit confused as to what just happened. He gave Asra a sheepish smile. "Sorry." He swallowed. "I-I couldn't hold back."

"Did he already finish?" Kasumi asked.

"Yes."

"Don't worry, I got more." Julian insisted. "I can keep going!"

"Is that so?" Asra teased and tugged Julian's hair, yanking his head back. "And are you going to cum before either me or Kasumi again?"

Julian shook his head desperately. "No, I'll hold out this time, I promise. I'll be good."

"You better keep that promise," Kasumi chuckled. "Or Asra and I will have to finish without you."

"Yes." Asra agreed and smirked at Julian. "You wouldn't want that, would you, Ilya?"

"No." He shook his head again. "I want to help satisfy both of you."

"Good." Asra started up his movements again, as did Kasumi while Julian laid there in submission and moaned.

Julian then got an idea and looked over at Kasumi. "Kasumi, come over here."

"Huh? Why?"

"Because it's not fair for you to be satisfying yourself." He motioned his head for her to come over. "Come on." When Kasumi stopped touching herself to crawl over, he then instructed her to put her knees on either side of his head. When she did so, he immediately stuck his tongue out and started lapping at her folds. He heard her let out a gasp and a moan, and he moaned in response as he continued. Asra watched with a smile while he kept riding Julian's cock, then took Kasumi's chin in his hand and kissed her, both moaning into it.

After a few minutes of kisses, licks and thrusts, Kasumi ended up cumming first as Julian sucked on her clit. Asra followed close behind her, his cum spraying onto Julian's stomach before he felt Julian fill him up a second time. Afterwards, the three of them all took a moment to calm themselves and come down from their natural highs. Kasumi got off Julian and helped Asra do the same before Julian got up himself, and the three of them went over to the bed, collapsing onto it, with Asra in between them.

"Whew!" Kasumi sighed happily as she shook her head, getting her hair out of her face. "I needed that!" She smirked at Asra and Julian. "You both sounded like you loved it!"

"Definitely!" Asra agreed, and Julian just hummed with a nod as his eye closed, and Asra chuckled. "I told you I could wear him out."

Kasumi laughed as she placed her head on Asra's chest. "You definitely did that!"

Julian's eye opened again as he smirked. "Yeah, well, you two look just as tired as I am. We can have more fun tomorrow, though, right?" He asked hopefully.

"We'll see." Asra teased as Julian cuddled against him and he placed one arm around Kasumi's bare shoulders while his other arm rested on Julian's which was around his waist. The three of them then fell asleep happily, and for once in a long while, Kasumi's sleep was dreamless.

Meanwhile, back in the dungeon, Ember and Faust had come out of their hiding places after Valerius and Valdemar had gone to bed. They had both overheard them talking about poisoning Kasumi and decided to head back to the shop to inform their others immediately about it. Unbeknownst to them, however, was that Valdemar was still awake, and when Ember walked passed their cot, they reached down with lightening speed and grabbed her by the back of the neck. "Hey Valerius, wake up! We got ourselves a spy!"

Ember growled and tried to swipe and bite at Valdemar but was unsuccessful in getting them to drop her.

Valerius woke up and got up from his cot as Faust bit into Valdemar's ankle to try and get them to free Ember, but Valerius tore her off. She then rounded on him and bit his wrist. It was then she noticed an identical bite mark further up his wrist, right below his hand, and she put two-and-two together that he was the man who'd attacked Kasumi in the shop! She was suddenly flung off him as he swung his arm hard, and she hit the bars of the cell. Faust was just about to go back when Ember spoke to her, telling her not to, and to just leave while she could.

 _"Go!"_ Ember pleaded.

Faust seemed hesitant, but then slipped out of the bars and far enough away so Valerius couldn't grab her again before saying back to Ember, _"I'll be back for you!"_ She then took off for a small hole in the wall that led outside the palace and headed for the shop as fast as she could.

––

*I commissioned an acquaintance of mine on Twitter to paint me the new cover photo for this story, and that is the exact image of Asra I'm portraying in that part. (Check out the photo if you haven't already!) Julian's hands are also in the painting, which is awesome! So, it is _**not**_ my art, I cannot even _draw_ to save my life, but I did get their permission to use it.

Well, this chapter was quite a bit longer than most of the other ones, but I am proud of it! I'm not too good at writing lemons, but this one turned out half-decently, I think! Also, I was going to end on Asra, Julian and Kasumi falling asleep, but then I thought back to Ember and Faust.

Now, you're probably wondering "why didn't Faust and Ember just contact Asra and Kasumi from the jail cell?" After all, if Asra and Faust could communicate when she was in Vesuvia and he was in Nopal, then surely that connection would span halfway across Vesuvia. Well, the answer to that is simple: they tried, but Asra and Kasumi were both too involved in what they were doing.

Hope you're enjoying this story so far! Also, if you want to follow me on Twitter, my name there is QueenTheirin and it's YaoiandYuriLove!


	10. Poisonous Effects

The next morning, Asra woke up first and saw Kasumi and Julian both lying next to him, and he smiled warmly before he sat up and stretched. He then slowly got out of bed as to not wake either of them up and headed downstairs after getting dressed. He stayed there for a bit, tidying up the room before putting the open sign up, and he heard footsteps coming down the stairs. He turned his head just in time to see Julian walk into the room, too, and smiled at him with his hair a complete, unruly mess. Asra chuckled and walked over while holding a comb in his hand, "Here, let me help you tame this wild hair of yours."

" _My_ wild hair?" Julian joked, "What about yours?" He ruffled Asra's silver locks for emphasis.

"Well, you're only making it worse." Asra laughed, and they both did before Julian let Asra use the comb on his hair.

Afterwards, Julian took off his jacket and wrapped it around Asra's bare shoulders. "Here, it's a bit chilly this morning."

"Thank you." Asra smiled and gripped the jacket tighter around him. Asra then turned his head when the door's bell rang out, and he saw two familiar figures walk in. Asra's smile widened as he greeted them. "Mom! Dad! You're back!" He rushed over and hugged them both as they hugged him back. After he and Kasumi had freed his parents from the trap the Devil had put them in, and its plan to merge the realms was thwarted, Asra's parents had left Vesuvia to see other places.

"Yes, and you're still doing well, I see." Asra's father, Salim, said. He then noticed the other person in the room and took a step away from his wife and son. "Who is this?"

Asra looked back at Julian and smiled, motioning for him to come over, "Mom, dad, this is Julian Devorak. Ilya, this is my mother, Aisha, and my father, Salim."

"Your parents?" Julian looked shocked. "Sorry, I just didn't think your parents were still alive."

"Neither did I until Kasumi and I found them in the magical realms during the masquerade." Asra explained. "I'll tell you the whole story later."

"I'm glad to see you're doing well." Aisha smiled, then tilted her head to the side a bit in curiousity. "I have to ask, though, where is Kasumi?"

"She's still asleep upstairs. Last night was, uh… tiring for her." The faintest hint of a blush crossed Asra's cheeks, but he shook it off. Suddenly, on the edge of his awareness, he heard Faust calling out to him, and he ran out the door, finding her laid out on the street a few feet away from the shop's door. "Faust!" He cried and ran over, picking her up and she slumped in his arms, too exhausted to even lift her head. He carried her back into the shop where he placed her down on the counter. "Faust, come on, talk to me. What happened?"

Faust turned her head to look at Asra and with the last bit of strength she could muster, she communicated, _"Ember… Kasumi… danger."_ She then fell limp again, passing out from exhaustion.

"Danger?" Asra whispered to himself.

"What danger?" Julian asked.

"I don't know. All she said was Ember, Kasumi and danger."

"Kasumi's in danger?" Salim asked. Right after asking that, Julian took off up the stairs, and Asra followed close behind him. Salim and Aisha looked at each other before they followed after the two of them, too, and found them checking on Kasumi in the bedroom.

"Kasumi…" Julian whispered as he gently shook her, trying to wake her up, and she moaned before rolling over on her back and opening her eyes, seeing him and Asra both looking at her with concern.

She sat up, the blue plush blanket falling off her body, but she quickly covered herself back up and blushed when she noticed Asra's parents standing in the doorway. "Hi." She greeted them. "I didn't know you two were back."

"Yes, they just got here." Asra walked over and ushered his parents out of the room, "Why don't you two go back downstairs? I'll be down shortly." He then closed the bedroom door after they headed back down.

"Kasumi, are you… feeling okay?" Julian asked, still looking concerned as he kneeled down next to the bed, placing his hand on hers.

"I feel-" She was about to say she felt fine as she stretched the tiredness out of her limbs, but suddenly stopped herself and let out a groan of pain, clutching the bandage where she'd gotten injured.

"Kasumi!" Asra hurriedly rushed over and sat on the bed in front her and moved her hand that was clutching her bandage, and saw blood pooling underneath. "Are you bleeding?"

"Damn!" Julian cursed and had Kasumi lay back down. "She must've reopened her wound. Asra, do you have any scissors and more bandages? Some healing herbs would be useful, as well." He said, his doctor instincts seeming to kick in. Asra simply nodded to his questions before running out of the room to gather said materials.

"Do you think it reopened last night during sex?" She asked Julian as she laid there motionless and he compressed the wound, trying to staunch the bleeding.

Julian shook his head. "If it had, you probably would have bled out by now." His face seemed to grow paler at that thought, but he shook it off. "No, it probably happened just now as you were stretching."

"How? I've done more than simply stretch after getting this wound, and it didn't reopen. Hell, I was jumping and splashing and moving around all over when we were on the beach."

"I don't know why. Sometimes, it just happens. Now, please, no more talking. Save your energy." Just then, Asra came back into the room, holding a pair of scissors, some bandages, and some jars of herbs. "Ah, thank you, Asra. I just need the scissors right now." He took said scissors and cut off the bandages covering Kasumi's wound, so he could get a proper look at the damage. He immediately covered his mouth in shock when he saw her wound, and Asra looked absolutely horrified, which really worried Kasumi. She tried to sit up, or at least lift her head up to look at it herself, but Julian quickly stopped her. "No, don't move." He glanced down at the wound again as it spilled out blood that was thicker than any blood he'd seen before, almost like molasses, and the skin around it almost seeming to turn black.

Meanwhile, in the forest's outside of Vesuvia, Valdemar was tightly clutching the back of Ember's neck in their hand as Valerius followed behind them. Ember was still trying to fight their grip and get free, even after several failed attempts. "What are we doing out here, again?" Valerius asked with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Shh!" Valdemar shushed him. "There's a cave out here somewhere, they say it's magical, so it's the perfect place to sacrifice this troublemaker." They held up Ember for emphasis.

 _"Help!"_ Ember cried out in her mind as loud as she possibly could as she squirmed.

Back at the shop, Kasumi heard Ember's scream for help, and she bolted upright. "Ember!"

"Kasumi!" Julian gripped her arms and pinned her back down to the bed.

"Get off me, Ilya! Ember's in trouble!"

"Kasumi, _you're_ in trouble!" Julian cried, then calmed down and looked at her with a sad and worried look. "Please, just… don't move. You'll only make it progress faster."

Kasumi froze and stared up at Julian. "What? Make what progress faster?"

Julian's eyes teared up. "Whoever shot that arrow at you wasn't trying to kill you with the arrow itself… they were trying to kill you with the poison they used on it." He suddenly broke down into tears and clutched her shoulders as he leaned his head down buried his nose into her neck. "I'm so sorry, Kasumi…" He cried. "I should've been more vigilant, and now… I don't know if I can save you."

Kasumi turned her head and looked in the corner of the room where Asra was standing, his back to them, but she knew he was crying, too. She was paralyzed with both fear and the feeling of uselessness. "I…" She stopped. There was nothing she could say or do to make either of them feel better. "Please…" She suddenly pleaded. "Both of you…" They both looked at her, tears streaming down their faces. "Ember… is in danger. Please, go save her."

"But what about you, Kasumi?" Asra's voice shook as he spoke, barely above a whisper through his tears.

"You can…" She groaned, then continued, "Worry about me when you get back. I can't save her myself, so it has to be the two of you."

"Asra…" Salim whispered as he walked into the room with Aisha. "We'll watch over Kasumi. You two have to go save her familiar, she can't fight this off without her."

Julian got off the bed, but turned back around and leaned down, giving Kasumi a gentle kiss on the forehead. "I love you, Kasumi."

"So do I." Asra whispered and kissed her hand.

Kasumi smiled weakly. "I know you both do, and love each other, also. So, please, take care of each other. Valerius and Valdemar have Ember, and I don't want either of you hurt." She looked at them with pleading eyes. "Now go."

Asra and Julian both nodded and looked at each other before leaving the shop and heading straight towards the palace. Both of them were equally eager to get Ember as fast as possible so that they could get back to Kasumi. When they got to the palace, they immediately headed inside and went straight down to the dungeon where they thought Valerius and Valdemar would still be, but their cell was empty. "They're gone!"

"Looking for someone?" A voice said behind Asra and Julian right before they ducked at the sword swinging towards their heads. They got out from being pinned against the cell door and spun back around to see that the woman who had swung her sword at them was the same guard who had been down there before, the one Nadia had told to keep a 24-hour watch on Valerius and Valdemar.

Julian put two-and-two together and shouted, "You! You let Valerius and Valdemar out! You're working with them!"

"Oh, good guess." She smirked and pointed her sword at them. "Are you a detective, too?"

"I should be, shouldn't I?" Julian cracked back.

"Too bad not a good enough one to see a trap when there is one." She snapped her fingers, and a couple dozen other guards came out from the shadows and surrounded them.

Julian and Asra stood in the center as they were cornered and were back-to-back so they would be able to see in a 360 degree angle. "Any ideas?" Julian whispered.

"One. Do you remember during our fight in the arena, when I conjured those spikes of ice?"

"Yes?"

"Well, I need to do it again, and I need your help, because conjuring ice from stone is more difficult than conjuring it from sand."

"What? I can't do magic."

"You don't have to." He gripped Julian's left hand in his right one. "Just don't think and lend me some of your energy."

"Okay, I'll try." Julian cleared his mind and took a deep breath, managing to channel some of his energy towards Asra, and as he did, Asra used his magic to completely surround them with ice spikes, the ends of which pointed at the guards. He then conjured all his mustered strength and released all the spikes at once, and they impaled the guards in all directions. Afterwards, Asra slumped forward a bit and placed his hands on his knees to try and get some breath back while Julian walked over to the guard who'd initially tried to kill them. One of the spikes had gone through her abdomen, and as she laid there, bleeding out, Julian stood over her with a mean glare. "Where did Valdemar and Valerius go? Where did they take Ember?" When she didn't respond, he kneeled down and gripped the front of her armor, dragging her forward. "Answer me!"

"Valdemar…" She coughed up blood. "Valdemar said something about… a cave… in the woods… they took that fox there." She wheezed. "That's all I know…"

"Well, that's all I need to know." He simply let go of her armor, letting her land back hard against the stone floor. "Asra?" He walked over and placed his hands on his shoulders. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Asra stood up straight. "And I know exactly what cave she's talking about."

"Good! Let's go, then!" Asra nodded in agreement before they left and headed towards the woods.

Back at the shop, Kasumi was still lying on the bed and covered by the blanket as Salim sat beside her with her hand in both of his, trying to comfort her. Meanwhile, Aisha was having Kasumi slowly sip on some tea to try and make her feel at least a little better. Kasumi let out a pained groan as she moved the slightest amount to try and get comfortable, and Aisha sighed, glancing out the window, _'Asra… hurry. She can't hold out much longer.'_

With Asra and Julian, they made it to the edge of the forest before they started their trek to the cave, Julian just following Asra there, since he knew the way. "You're awfully quiet." Julian commented, breaking the silence.

"I'm just worried about Kasumi."

"So am I, but there's more to your worry, I can tell."

Asra stopped dead in his tracks and looked at Julian before he let out a short chuckle. "You and Kasumi are the only two people who have ever been able to see right through me like that." He sighed and continued walking, but also, continued talking. "I'm concerned about exactly why Valdemar and Valerius would take Ember to the cave. If they were going to kill her, why not just do it in their cell? Why bring her way out here to the cave to get rid of her?"

"Is the inside of the cave a labyrinth?" Asra nodded. "Then, maybe they're hoping she'll get lost and never find her way out?"

"No, it would be simple for a familiar to find her way out of that cave. The markings covering the inside walls are simple to navigate, should you know how to read them, which any familiar would. There's another reason why they've brought her out here, I'm not sure what it is, but I know that it can't be good."

"Then let's quickly find Ember, save her, and get back to Kasumi."

Inside the cave, Valerius and Valdemar had found their way into it and were now heading in the very direction of the pool. "So," Valerius spoke up. "Tell me again exactly how we couldn't have just gotten rid of this fox by simply bashing her on the head with a metal rod in the cell."

"You have no imagination." Valdemar said coolly. "Besides, do you realize what could happen when the blood of a familiar mixes with the pool of water inside this cave?"

"No."

Valdemar let out an exasperated sigh. "No wonder you and the Count got along so well, you're both completely oblivious when it comes to the true power of magic." They turned their back to Valerius and muttered, "Not to mention the inherent collaboration in the bedroom."

"Would you stop bringing that up?!" Valerius's hands clenched into fists, and Valdemar simply rolled their eyes before continuing onward, apparently knowing exactly where they were going, and Valerius had no choice but to follow.

At the entrance of the cave, Asra led Julian inside, and Julian sighed as he saw the massive interior. "Damn… this place looked a lot smaller from the outside. Please tell me you know where we're going." Asra simply nodded and led Julian further inside. The two of them walked deeper and deeper into the darkness of the cave until they heard what sounded like a loud, high-pitched squeal, and they took off running in its direction. They ran into the room just as Valdemar was holding Ember down on the ground and holding a dagger up over their head, ready to kill her with it. "Valdemar!" Julian yelled.

They and Valerius both turned their heads, and they smirked. "Ah. Doctor Devorak, I was wondering if you two would come in time to see the show. Where's the lovely Kasumi? Lying in bed on Death's doorstep once again, isn't she?" They feigned a sad look. "This would be… what? The second time you couldn't save her… or is it third?"

Julian growled lowly, his one good eye and plague-tainted eye both held the fires of pure rage and hate in them. "It was you, wasn't it?! _You_ poisoned her!"

"I can't take all the credit, I'm afraid. It _was_ Valerius's idea," They gestured to him. "I merely did what I was told."

"Since when have you ever done what you've been told?!"

"When our priorities are the same, we both needed Kasumi out of the way. Valerius for revenge, and I…" They lifted Ember up. "For her." Valdemar was suddenly knocked forwards by a huge wave that Asra had summoned up from the pool, but their grip on Ember didn't loosen even a little, although, they did lose the dagger they'd been holding in their other hand.

"You're not getting Ember, and you're not getting Kasumi!" Asra yelled and summoned some more water from the pool, turning it into an ice spear in his hands, and Valerius walked towards him as he drew his sword from his belt. The two of them clashed weapons while Julian ran towards Valdemar as fast as he could with so much force, it toppled them both into the pool.

As they were tackled, their grip on Ember finally faltered, and she fell to the floor of the cave with a light thud. She then got up and shook herself off before looking back and forth between the spot in the pool where Julian fell in, and the spot where Asra was fighting Valerius. She debated on who to go help before she decided that Asra had his situation handled, so she dived down into the pool to try and find Julian. She got down a few feet before spotting him and Valdemar. Valdemar had apparently gotten their leg stuck and was trying to keep Julian down there with them so he'd drown. Ember swam over and bit down on Valdemar's arm with all the jaw force she could muster, which was enough to cause Valdemar to let Julian go.

Julian then quickly grabbed Ember before Valdemar could and swam up to the surface, taking a huge gulp of air when he came up. When he saw Asra and Valerius trading blows, he swam over and got out of the pool with Ember, setting her on the ground, and ran over, pinning Valerius against the wall with his arm against his throat before he had a chance to react. "It's over, Valerius. Kasumi is going to live, and your plan has failed."

"It's not over until _I_ say it's over!" Valerius growled as he kicked Julian in the stomach, knocking him back. When Asra tried to stab him with the spear, Valerius used his sword to deflect the blow at the last second, and the spear got lodged in the wall beside his head. Before Valerius could deliver a strike against Asra or Julian, a hand wrapped around his arm and dragged him away; it was Valdemar, drenched in the water from the pool.

"You two may have won this round, but at least Kasumi's fate is sealed! It's been three days! She's out of time!" Valdemar's hand clenched into a fist as the veins in their wrist almost seemed to glow.

Back at the shop, Kasumi suddenly let out a loud, pained gasp as her eyes widened, she froze, then fell limp, letting out her last breath. Salim and Aisha looked at each other in horror and sadness.

In the cave, Julian and Asra didn't have time to give chase to Valerius and Valdemar, so Asra simply picked up Ember and took off for the entrance of the cave with Julian hot on his heels. They were both praying that Valdemar had just been lying, that Kasumi was still alive, and they'd get back in time to help her. It took them almost another hour or so to get back to the shop, even with them running the entire way, and as soon as they got there, they ran upstairs and into the bedroom. Kasumi was lying on the bed, motionless, while Salim had his arms around Aisha as she cried on his shoulder, and Faust, Chimes and Flamel all had their heads bowed in mourning.

"Kasumi…" Asra whispered, secretly hoping she was just resting, but when his father looked at him and shook his head with tears in his eyes, Asra collapsed on the floor beside the bed. "Kasumi!" He cried and hugged her lifeless body. "No! Please, no! Not again!" Ember slowly jumped up on the bed and laid down next to Kasumi's legs, almost seeming to be crying herself. Faust slithered over to Ember and placed her head on top of Ember's as her tail wrapped around her back, as if to comfort her.

Julian walked over and kneeled down next to Asra before wrapping his arms around him and Kasumi, holding them both as he began crying, too. The only sounds in the room were of everyone crying, and Julian hugged Asra closely after he'd gently placed Kasumi's body and wrapped his arms around Julian's neck, buried his face into his shoulder.

"I'm so sorry…" Salim finally said, breaking the silence. "There are some things in life you just can't change." Tears rolled down his face.

Julian suddenly stopped crying and lifted his head up, a look of anger and determination on his face. "I may not be able to bring Kasumi back, but I _am_ going to kill the men who took her from us!"

––

Whew! I've written all this in just the last day or so! I just had one idea after another, and now, I know exactly how this story is going to end! Still debating on whether to do an epilogue, but the next chapter will be the last: the final confrontation! Ooo! That's a good chapter title!

Anyway, I know this chapter was a bit depressing, and I admit that I even started tearing up while writing Kasumi's death scene, I don't handle tragedy that well. Please, tell me what you all think, and what you think will happen next!


	11. The Final Confrontation

Julian quickly gathered what he needed before he ran out of the shop, but he didn't get very far before he heard Asra's voice calling after him. He stopped and turned to look at Asra as he ran over. "Asra, go back home. I don't want you in the middle of this. After all, this thing between Valdemar and I has been a long time coming." Julian growled out, then looked at Asra softly and placed his hand against Asra's cheek. "And besides… I promised Kasumi that I would take care you."

"No," Asra placed his hand over Julian's. " _We_ promised Kasumi that we would take care of _each other_. I am not letting you leave without me. My parents will watch over Kasumi, and I'm going to help you."

"Asra…"

"No excuses, I'm coming along." Asra started walking before Julian could protest again, and Julian sighed before he simply followed.

…

Meanwhile, Kasumi woke up on the floor of a hard marble floor, wearing a simple white robe. As her eyes slowly opened and she became aware, she realized something odd. She couldn't feel the cold floor beneath her, and she immediately panicked. The only other time she'd felt this way was when Lucio had stolen her body and she was nothing but a spirit. She got off the floor and looked around, and she realized that she didn't recognize this place. It was a long corridor that seemed to go on forever, with large, wooden doors on both sides of the hallway at regular intervals.

"So, you're here." Kasumi heard a familiar voice say, and she turned to see the Magician standing there. He was transparent, though, and there, standing next to him at his feet, was an equally transparent Ember.

"What are you doing here?"

"I came here to help you after your familiar, Ember, called for me."

"You know her?"

The Magician smiled and picked up Ember in its arms and scratched her under the chin, which made her smile. "Who do you think led Ember to you in the first place? It wasn't a mere coincidence that she arrived at the palace gardens at the same time you were there with Asra. Normally, I would not intervene directly in events, but someone needed to take her in."

"Did you also know that she was my familiar, then?"

"Possibly."

'As vague as ever.' Kasumi thought with a sigh.

"I heard that." The Magician let out a brief chuckle.

"Huh?" Kasumi asked. "How did you…?"

"Where do you think we are?"

Kasumi looked around once again and suddenly saw the place in a whole new light, everything seeming a bit more familiar. "We're… inside my head?"

The Magician nodded. "Your physical body may be dead, but your brain is not."

"Dead? Wait! I'm dead?!"

"Not entirely, haven't you been listening? There is still a chance to bring you back from the brink, but it needs to be done soon."

"What can I do?"

"You? Nothing. But if others were to discover the source of the poison that killed you and cut it off at its roots, then perhaps you may yet awaken."

"Do you know the source?" She asked, and The Magician shook its head. "You don't know, or you won't tell me?"

"I am not a fountain of information. I do not give answers, remember?" Kasumi just sighed, seemingly defeated. The Magician placed Ember down and she ran over to Kasumi while it put its hand up to its chin in a thoughtful pose. "However… there is one thing you could do while waiting for others to save your body."

Kasumi picked up Ember and she climbed onto her shoulder as Kasumi looked back at The Magician. "What's that?"

"Well, you are inside your own mind, are you not? So, why not look around, see what this place has to show you? I feel I must warn you, though, not everything you come across here may be pleasant." With that vague warning, The Magician disappeared.

Kasumi looked down the long corridor of doors and seemed to hesitate before looking at Ember. "Will you be with me?" Ember nodded encouragingly with a smile, and Kasumi seemed to become filled with confidence, so she walked over to the first wooden door on the left and opened it. The two of them had to shield their eyes from the intense white light that seemed to engulf them for a moment before it faded.

 _When Kasumi opened her eyes again, she was standing in Vesuvia, but things looked a little different. She was in front of the shop she and Asra called home, but it had a different name, and the outside was different. "Are we in the past, or future?" She asked Ember, who merely seemed to shrug before she got her answer._

 _"Oh, wow! That's amazing!" They heard someone say from the other side of the shop, and they walked around it to see a group of people watching a younger looking Asra perform magic tricks with a small tin bucket next to him for money._

 _"Okay, this is definitely the past." Kasumi muttered._

 _She then noticed herself walking towards the crowd, carrying a straw-weaved basket filled with goods, like bread and eggs. Her younger self appeared to be around 15 or 16 years old, and she walked over to watch Asra's performance also. Her black hair was tied back in a high bun while she wore a simple long sleeved shirt with a blue skirt and sandels._

 _After a couple more tricks, Asra stopped and informed the crowd that it was all he was going to do for now, but that he had some masquerade masks for sale if anyone wanted to stay and look at them._

 _"Wait…" Kasumi whispered as she watched this all play out. "I…I remember now. This is when Asra and I first met, nine years ago!"_

 _As the crowd began to disperse, Kasumi's younger self walked over and smiled at Asra as he set his wares out. "Hello."_

 _Asra looked up, and his eyes seemed to widen in shock for a moment before he cleared his throat and timidly introduced himself. "Hi, I'm Asra."_

 _"Kasumi." She introduced back as she shook his hand. "That was some amazing magic."_

 _Asra blushed a bit. "Oh, uh… thank you."_

 _"Maybe you could teach me some?"_

 _"You can do magic, too?" He asked, and she nodded before demonstrating with a snap of her fingers, which produced a flicker of flame. "Wow, that was pretty neat. Maybe you should join me in my performances sometime."_

 _Before Kasumi could respond, there was a sudden commotion and a group of people flocking to the streets, one of them running and bumping into Kasumi, causing her to fall forward, but Asra caught her. "Thanks." She said as she stood back up. "Why is everyone suddenly so excited?"_

 _"I don't know. Let's go see." Asra and Kasumi walked into the crowd of people themselves, walking right through the real Kasumi and Ember. They poked their heads over the crowd and saw an open carriage riding down the streets with a woman sitting in the back with long purple hair and wearing a beautiful, elegant dress._

 _"That's Princess Nadia, I heard she came from Prakra." One of the people in the crowd mumbled, loud enough for Asra and Kasumi to hear._

 _"Is she on her way to see the Count?" Another asked._

 _"Must be." The first one replied._

 _"I did hear that a female suitor was supposed to be arriving for him today." Yet another person said._

Suddenly, the bright white light returned and engulfed Kasumi and Ember again before they found themselves standing back in the long corridor, right in front of the door they'd just walked through. Kasumi took hold of the handle again, and out of curiousity, tried to see if it would open once more, but it seemed to be locked now. "Yeah, that was definitely when Asra and I first met, and the first time I saw Nadia." She looked at all the other doors. "All of these must lead to memories that I have long since forgotten." She looked at Ember. "Should we continue?" Ember nodded, so Kasumi opened the door right across the hall and the light enveloped them once again…

…

Meanwhile, back in the real world with Julian and Asra, they had made their way back to the cave in the forest, and surprisingly, found Muriel there with Inanna. "Muriel?" Asra asked as he and Julian walked over. "What are you two doing here?"

"Inanna said she picked up your scent, and it led us here." He answered as Inanna walked over to Asra and nudged his hand. "What are the two of you doing here?"

"We're looking for Valdemar and Valerius. We last saw them here. You two haven't happened to see them, have you?" Julian asked, and Muriel simply shook his head. Julian sighed and put his hands in his pockets as he looked down at the ground, but he then felt something in his pocket and pulled it out. It was part of Valdemar's black glove, and he suddenly remembered that it had torn when he was struggling with Valdemar in the pool in the cave; he must've put it in his pocket without realizing it. "Wait, this is Valdemar's! Maybe we could use this to track them?"

"Worth a shot." Asra took the torn piece of glove from Julian and held it out to Inanna so she could pick up the scent. She sniffed it before curling back and exhaled sharply, as if trying to clear her nose of an awful smell.

"She said it smells like death and decay." Muriel said.

"That's Valdemar." Julian said.

Inanna then put her nose to the ground and began sniffing as she walked around. She suddenly stopped, sniffed once more, then took off running while letting out a howl, alerting them that she'd picked up the trail.

"Come on!" Asra said and they all ran after Inanna through the trees.

…

Back with Kasumi and Ember, they had been going from door to door and experiencing Kasumi's old memories together when Kasumi came across a door that seemed to give her a feeling of anger, sadness, and regret. She hesitated on that one, not sure whether she wanted to open it or not, but then remembered what The Magician had said about not everything they come across being pleasant. "That is life, after all. It's not all sunshine and rainbows." She said aloud. "Remembering the bad times has uses, too." She opened the door, the now well acquainted light engulfing them before she and Ember saw herself and Asra standing on the beach. They were the only two there and seemed to be arguing.

 _"I told you already, Asra, I am not leaving!" The past Kasumi yelled. "This damn plague has already taken my aunt's life, as well as several others, and you expect me to just turn my back?!"_

 _"But Kasumi, there are so many other places we could go, places that are far away from the ravages of the plague. We could come back when the plague is over, we'll leave just until it has run its course."_

 _"No! I am not going to abandon these people, Asra! How could you even suggest that?! Is that your solution for everything?! Just run away and hide?!"_

 _"I'm trying to protect you, Kasumi!" Asra said, his voice raising itself. "If we stay here, one or both of us could contract the plague and die! If we leave, there would be no risk of that! I am sorry about your aunt, but dying is not going to bring her back! I don't…" He sighed as tears formed in his eyes. "I can't lose you."_

 _"For the last time, I am not leaving! You can run if you want, but I am not coming with you!" With that, Kasumi stomped off angrily._

Then, Kasumi and Ember reappeared in the corridor, and Kasumi just stared at the now locked wooden door. "It was all my fault… if I had just left with Asra, I wouldn't have put him through all that pain…"

 _"But then you wouldn't have met Julian."_ Ember reminded her.

Kasumi smiled. "You're right, Ember. He is still the silver lining in that whole situation."

Kasumi walked across the hall and entered yet another door.

 _This time, Kasumi and Ember found themselves in the streets of Vesuvia and watched as the past Kasumi wandered through the crowds. They followed Kasumi's past self into the South End district of Vesuvia and into a tiny little clinic where they saw Julian patching up a patient as he laid on the bed._

 _"Excuse me." Past Kasumi spoke up, and Julian looked up at her. "Are you Doctor Devorak? The doctor I heard about, who is trying to find a cure for the plague?"_

 _"That would be me, yes." Julian stood up from his stool as he wiped his hands clean with a white rag. "Do you need my help?"_

 _"No. Actually…" Kasumi gripped the strap of her bag. "I came to ask if you needed any help? I want to find a cure for this plague as well."_

 _"You want to help me?" He asked, and she nodded. "In that case…" Julian walked over to a makeshift desk and dabbed a quill in some ink before writing a note on a piece of parchment and handing it to her. "Would you be willing to go out and find the leech dealer? Give her this note and she'll know I sent you, and know what to give you."_

 _Kasumi took the note and smiled with a nod. "Okay, Doctor!"_

 _Julian chuckled. "Call me Julian."_

 _"Okay, Julian!" She corrected herself before leaving, seemingly happy about now having a chance to help._

Kasumi and Ember then reappeared in the corridor once again and Kasumi chuckled. "So, that's how Ilya and I met. I wonder if I can remember more about our time together…" She made her way to another door further down.

 _After opening the door, Kasumi and Ember saw the past Kasumi entering Julian's clinic late at night and gave Brundle a pet on the head as she walked passed her and headed further inside. In the back room, she saw Julian lying on the bed wearing his usual white shirt and black pants. He seemed to hear her come in, as he turned his head and opened his eyes, smiling at her. "Hi Kasumi, welcome back."_

 _"Hi." Kasumi greeted back with a smile of her own and wandered over, sitting on the bed beside him. "I put the materials on the desk."_

 _"Ah, thank you." He placed his hand on top of hers. "I'm glad to have you around, Kasumi. You sure do make things easier."_

 _Kasumi smiled wider and squeezed his hand in response before taking her shoes off and lying down on the bed next to him. "I'm just happy to be doing my part."_

 _"And that you are." Julian chuckled. He then yawned and got comfortable, and she laid down next to him, placing her head on his chest, and he chuckled before wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "Good night, Kasumi."_

 _"Good night, Julian." She then closed her eyes and they both fell asleep._

…

Back with Asra and Julian again, they and Muriel followed Inanna to the edge of the forest and back into town. On the way there, Asra and Julian had informed Muriel about what had happened to Kasumi, and surprisingly, he seemed sad about the news. Muriel continued going with them, even into the city, and following Inanna who seemed to be leading them towards the palace.

When the four of them got to the palace gates, they were locked, and surprisingly, there were no guards in sight. Julian rattled the gates as if he could somehow open them by doing so, but they barely budged.

"How sweet." A voice suddenly said from the other side of the gate and they saw Valdemar walking up, carrying the front gate key in their hand. "Looking for this?" They then threw the key as far as they could in the opposite direction of the gate and smirked at them before taking off for the front doors.

"Valdemar!" Julian yelled before he jumped on the gate and just started climbing, getting over the top of it quickly and landing on his feet on the other side. "Get back here, you murderer!" He started running after Valdemar.

"Ilya, wait! Get the key first!" Asra yelled to him.

Julian stopped and debated whether to get the key and throw it to Asra or simply continue following Valdemar. After a moment, he went over to the bushes where the key landed, grabbed it, and tossed it back over the fence, but didn't wait for them before taking off after Valdemar again.

The key flew over the fence and Inanna caught it by jumping into the air and grabbing it with her teeth. Asra chuckled as she dropped it into his hands. "Good catch!" He quickly opened the gate, and ran inside after Julian, closely followed by Muriel and Inanna.

Inside the palace, Valdemar had found where Mercedes and Melchior were and let them loose, smirking as they made their way down the hallway where they heard Julian coming. "That should slow him down." Valdemar then took off again.

When Julian came running around the corner, he came face-to-face with the two dogs, who were barring their teeth and growling ferociously at him, "Whoa!" He looked down the hallway and just saw the back of Valdemar as they ran around the corner at the other end of the hall. He looked back at the two dogs blocking his path. "All I want to do is pass, so can I just-" He was cut off when he tried to take a step forward, but Melchior snapped his jaws at him.

Suddenly, Asra, Muriel and Inanna came around the corner too, and Inanna immediately started snarling at Mercedes and Melchior. There seemed to be a tense standoff for a moment before the two dogs lunged forward and attacked Inanna. The three of them started fiercely fighting, which Muriel tried to stop, worried for Inanna, but Asra stopped him. At first, it seemed as if Mercedes and Melchior were winning as they'd pinned Inanna to the floor and were biting her, but she kicked Mercedes off before quickly getting back to her feet and grabbing Melchior by the neck before using her two front paws to shove him away, kicking him into the wall so hard that he got scared and ran off with his tail between his legs. Inanna then pinned Mercedes down and bit her on the snout until she fully submitted, then chased her off. Inanna snorted in defiance at their retreating forms before going back to Muriel's side, who quickly looked her over for wounds.

"Come on, Valdemar went this way!" Julian said, and Asra followed him down the hallway.

Further into the palace, Portia was walking around, looking down at the ring that Nadia had given her when she heard footsteps coming down the hall, and she squinted before the figure came out of the shadows. "Valerius! You…You're out of your cell!"

"Yes, great observation there, laundry maid." He replied sarcastically. "Where is Nadia?"

"Why should I tell you? Do you really think I'm going to let you- urgh!" She was cut off when he knocked her out with the pommel of his sword.

"You're not worth my time, then." He simply said to her unconscious self as she lay there, and then simply walked off. He met up with Valdemar a few hallways down and they asked him if he'd found Nadia yet. "No, not yet."

"Well, we have to hurry. Doctor Devorak and that magician, Asra, are here, looking for us." Suddenly, they heard Julian yell out their name, and they grabbed Valerius's arm and dragged him off.

When Julian ran down the hallway, he stopped dead when he saw Portia lying there. "Pasha!" He kneeled down and held her in his arms, lightly shaking her. "Pasha, come on, wake up."

Portia slowly regained consciousness and looked up to see her brother's concerned face looking back at her. "Ilya? What are you doing here?" She slowly sat up and held her head as it throbbed.

"We're looking for Valdemar and Valerius. Have you seen them?" Asra asked.

"Valerius!" She quickly got up with her brother's help. "Yes, I saw him! He knocked me out when I refused to tell him where Nadia was."

Asra looked horrified. " _That_ must be the reason they came back here! They came to finish what they started, killing Nadia!"

"Then we have to stop them! Let's go!"

…

Back with Kasumi once again, she and Ember entered yet another memory. They saw Julian and past Kasumi in the labs that were connected to the library in the palace.

 _Kasumi was holding a stack of papers and books and placed them on the desk where Julian was seated as he looked down at his notes and seemed to be in deep thought. He snapped out of it when he felt Kasumi place her hand on his shoulder, and he looked up at her. "Don't overexert yourself, Julian. You're only going to give yourself a headache."_

 _"I know, I know." He sighed. "I just don't get it. Nothing about this makes any sense. How can there be absolutely no mention of the plague in earlier history? And why has it suddenly come here, to Vesuvia, and seemingly only here? It's too potent to be a naturally accruing disease, but what could cause it? Where did it come from?" He let out a sigh. "So many questions, and not nearly enough answers…" Suddenly, he was frozen when Kasumi wrapped her arms around his neck in a hug._

 _"You need to stop worrying so much. We'll figure this out."_

 _Julian smiled and wrapped his arms around Kasumi's waist, pulling her close and hugging her back._

 _"Ahem." The sound of someone clearing their throat startled them as they pulled apart. "Are you sleeping with your apprentice now, 069?" Valdemar said with their mask covering their face._

 _"What? No. She was just helping me relax."_

 _Valdemar just rolled their unnerving red eyes and walked off._

 _Kasumi suddenly started coughing, and then recovered a moment later. She saw Julian looking at her worriedly, but she just smiled and squeezed his shoulder. "I'm fine." She watched as Julian went back to his notes, and she wandered over to her own desk and took a handkerchief just as another cough attack hit her, and afterwards, she noticed a few drops of blood on said handkerchief._

 _Right before Kasumi and Ember left the memory, they both saw Valdemar pull their mask down as they smirked evilly at Kasumi._

Kasumi and Ember emerged from the memory and a chill seemed to go down Kasumi's spine from it. "I was just starting to show symptoms of the plague…"

 _"And Valdemar did nothing."_ Ember pointed out.

"Of course they didn't. They took pleasure in all the death the plague caused, and I'm sure they were also interested to see how it would affect Ilya." Kasumi replied. She sighed, "I remember that I didn't want to worry him… so I said nothing." Kasumi started heading for the next door, but this one seemed to radiate a dark aura, so dark and malevolent that even Ember seemed hesitant to cross its threshold. However, Kasumi gathered her courage and opened the door before she could lose her nerve and change her mind.

 _Kasumi recognized that she was standing on the docks and watched as her past self boarded a gondola, along with several other sickly looking people. The person at the head of the gondola was wearing a plague mask, not unlike the one Julian used to possess, but she knew it wasn't him underneath it. After the gondola was full, it departed the docks and Kasumi followed it by walking on the water behind it. The only reason she was able to do so was because it was a memory, and she was a spirit. She followed the gondola all the way to the place she knew it was heading: The Lazaret._

 _When the gondola pulled up on the shore, all the plague victims were ushered out before the boat immediately left to go back to Vesuvia's docks and pick up even more plague victims. She followed her past self into the large building where she and several others were tossed unceremoniously with the bodies of the dead and dying. Her past self weakly watched the workers shovel out piles of ash and charred bones. The smell of death, decay and burnt flesh triggered her already weak stomach, but she was too weak to even throw up. So, she simply laid there on the pile of dead bodies, waiting for her turn in the large furnace._

 _The present Kasumi who was watching this desperately wanted to leave the memory now, feeling like she'd seen enough, but she couldn't will herself to leave it. It seemed like the memory was only going to end when it was truly over. When she opened her eyes, she was still in the Lazaret, watching her past self do nothing but wait for the inevitable end. She was then forced to watch as she got picked up by the back of her soiled and ripped shirt and tossed into the furnace, then piles of others followed behind her. She then saw from the outside, the workers shutting the furnace doors after lighting the corpses on fire._

That's when Kasumi and Ember came out of the memory, and Kasumi collapsed down to the floor on her hands and knees, panting for air as her eyes filled up with tears.

 _"Enough memory searching for now?"_ Ember asked, looking at her concerned.

"Yeah… I'm done…"

…

At the palace, Portia led Julian, Asra, Muriel and Inanna down the hallways of the palace and was heading directly towards Nadia's bedchamber. Valdemar and Valerius had already gotten in there themselves, though, and saw Nadia sleeping peacefully on her bed. "Well, this is going to be easy." Valerius said to himself as he drew his sword from its sheath and walked over to the bed. What he failed to realize, though, was Chandra, who was perched on the windowsill on the side of the room. When she noticed him there with his sword drawn, she took off and used her talons to scratch at him as she flew passed. "You damn bird!" He swung his sword at Chandra, but she ducked at the last second and his sword ended up lodged in the overhead frame.

All the commotion woke up Nadia, and she hurried off the bed and quickly got to her feet as Valerius tried to get his sword unstuck while also trying to fend off Chandra's sharp talons.

"Useless…" Valdemar grumbled and they took out a vial from their pocket that was filled with green liquid, and grabbed Nadia. With their thumb, they opened up the vial while their other hand was trying to hold Nadia's mouth open. She was fighting them with everything she had, but was barely making an impact.

Just then, the door burst open, breaking the barrier that Valerius and Valdemar had tried to put up to keep someone from interfering. Not surprisingly, Muriel had broken through it like it was nothing, and Julian was the first to rush in, immediately making a b-line for Valdemar and tackling them to the floor, freeing Nadia in the process. When they were knocked down, the vial flew out of their hand and smashed on the ground. It seemed to be some sort of acid, as it ate away at the floorboards. Julian started hitting Valdemar with all his bent up rage, but was kicked off and Valdemar got back to their feet.

Portia immediately ran over to Nadia and hugged her. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine, Portia. You don't need to worry." Nadia hugged her back.

Valerius got his sword out finally after he managed to knock Chandra away and he swung it towards Nadia, but Portia protected her by ducking them both down. She then gripped Valerius's wrist and tried to knock the sword out of his hand, but he was stronger than she was and knocked her to the ground. Asra then ran over and wrestled Valerius to the ground, knocking the sword out of his hand, which Portia promptly picked up, tossing it to her brother, "Ilya!" With Valerius now unarmed, Asra grabbed the decanter on the nightstand on the side of the bed and smashed it over Valerius's head, knocking him unconscious as he landed on the bed.

Julian picked up the sword that Portia had thrown to him and slashed it against Valdemar's side, wounding them, and they fell back against the wall, clutching their side. Julian stood of them and lifted the sword up over his head, a scowl on his face as his eyes glowered with hatred. "I should have done this a _long_ time ago!"

"Julian, you wouldn't truly kill someone, would you?" Valdemar seemed to taunt him. "That's not who you are. You couldn't kill Lucio, and you can't kill me."

Julian's hands were gripping the handle of the sword so tightly that they shook a bit, and his jaw was clenched tightly, but he then sighed as he dropped the sword. "I can't… no matter how much someone's hurt me, I just can't. I'm not a murderer."

"Well, that works out perfectly because I can kill you." Valdemar quickly picked up the sword, and pointed it straight at Julian's throat, but before they could actually do anything, Portia charged at them and knocked them back.

"Pasha!" When she tackled him, the sword had slashed at her arm, and before Valdemar could do anything else to Julian picked up the sword once again. This time, he showed no hesitation whatsoever and slammed the sword down onto Valdemar's chest after Portia moved out of the way. Valdemar tried to pull it out, but Julian kept it in, refusing to give them any chance of surviving this. It seemed that them hurting Portia was the absolute last straw for Julian, and he even twisted the sword to cause more damage. Within only a minute or so, Valdemar lost consciousness and took their last breath. Julian finally let go of the sword and looked over to see Asra tending to Portia's wound.

"Here, stay still." Asra said to Portia and used his magic to heal her wound.

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it." Asra then turned his attention to Valerius. "So, what are we going to do about him?"

"Well, he got out of the dungeon before, so… I'm not sure." Nadia sighed.

"Actually…" Julian and Asra looked at one another before Julian finished, "The only reason they got out was because of some traitorous guards. Asra and I already dealt with them. Maybe you should take a look in the dungeon more often…" Julian chuckled somewhat sheepishly.

"You just… left the bodies there?" Portia asked, and they both looked rather sheepish.

"Don't worry about it." Nadia assured them. "We'll worry about that later. For now, I'm just glad that you two discovered and took care of that problem." She looked at Valdemar's corpse. "And they're not going to be a problem anymore."

Julian sighed. "I let my rage get the best of me."

"Ilya…" Asra placed his hand on Julian's shoulder. "You did the right thing."

"I agree." Portia nodded as she placed her hand on her brother's other shoulder. "They were evil, through and through! They deserved the fate you gave them!" Nadia nodded in agreement as well.

"By the way," Nadia spoke up. "Where's Kasumi?"

Asra's eyes immediately started filling up with tears, so Julian pulled him close to try and comfort him. "She's gone…" Julian sighed sadly.

"Gone?"

"What do you mean she's gone?" Portia asked, sadly.

Julian lightly kissed Asra's forehead and ran his fingers through his hair before he answered them. "She was poisoned… and we arrived back at the shop too late."

Portia and Nadia both looked ready to cry themselves and Nadia wiped a tear from her eye before she spoke up again. "If that's the case, then… the least we could do is give her a marvelous funeral."

Not long after they had tossed Valerius back in the dungeon to await trial for his most recent crimes, Asra, Julian, Portia, Nadia, and even Chandra and Pepi were in the throne room. They all seemed to just stand there in silence until a couple guards came in, one of them was Ludovico. "Countess, there are two visitors here, they claim to be the magician's parents." Nadia allowed them to let them in after Asra encouraged her, and Salim and Aisha walked over after entering the room.

"What are you two doing here?" Asra asked.

"Yeah, where's Kasumi? I thought you two were watching her."

Salim didn't answer with words, and instead, simply smiled and motioned for the guards to let someone else in as well. The guards walked over and opened the door, letting in a familiar figure who walked in with a happy fox walking right beside her, and an equally happy snake around her shoulders. She smiled brightly and ran over as she called out, "Asra! Ilya!"

"Kasumi!" Asra cried and ran over to her, meeting her halfway and tackling her in an embrace, and Julian followed suit. "We thought we'd lost you!"

"Yeah, I mean, how did you…?" Julian stopped himself and shook his head, smiling happily. "Never mind. Who am I to question a miracle?"

Soon, Nadia and Portia walked over and joined in the embrace as well. "Oh, Kasumi, you had us all so depressed." Nadia sighed. After they all pulled away from Kasumi, she asked, "I wonder myself, though… how _did_ you come back from the dead?"

"First let me ask… what happened with Valerius and Valdemar?"

"Valerius is back in the dungeon for good, and Valdemar is dead." Julian answered.

"If others were to discover the source of the poison that killed you and cut it off at its roots…" Kasumi muttered, repeating what The Magician had said to her.

"Beg pardon?" Nadia asked, confused.

"After my body died, my spirit went inside my own mind, and I saw The Magician there. It told me that if someone were to discover the source of the poison and cut it off at its roots, then I would awaken."

"You don't think…" Asra started.

"That Valdemar _was_ the source?!" Julian finished, just as surprised and shocked.

"It would almost make sense, though…" Asra thought out loud. "I mean, I do remember seeing their viens glow when they said Kasumi was out of time."

"So… they used their own blood to poison Kasumi?" Portia asked.

"That _does_ sound like something they would do." Julian growled. "Horrific, terrible, and downright insane. I just wonder why they waited so long to kill her if they could have at any time." He shook his head to stop his chain of thought. "Never mind. I'm overanalyzing everything when it doesn't matter again."

Kasumi chuckled. "That's just part of what makes you… you, Ilya," She tapped on her temple. "Always using your brain, even when you don't have to." They all laughed before Kasumi stretched and changed the subject. "You know what I could use right about now?"

"What's that?" Nadia asked.

"A nice hot, relaxing bath."

Nadia chuckled. "That can be arranged. Come with me." Kasumi followed Nadia down the hallways and to Nadia's private bath and given a fresh bathing robe by one of the servants. "Take your time." Nadia smiled before leaving Kasumi to herself.

Kasumi smiled and untied her hair, shed off her clothes and put on the robe, then sunk into the bath and sighed contently as she did. She leaned her head back against the side of the bath and let her eyes slip closed. After a minute or so, Kasumi opened her eyes when she heard the door open and close, and she turned her head to see that it was none other than Asra and Julian, wearing their own bath robes. She was suddenly reminded of the very first dream she'd ever had and couldn't help but smirk. "Did you two come to keep me company?"

"Yes, actually." Julian chuckled and got into the bath beside her while Asra did the same on the other side. He kissed the side of her neck and hummed contently. "So, I hope you don't mind if Asra and I have a bit of fun with you?"

"Mind? I don't mind at all." Kasumi said with a mischievous glint in her eyes, and the three of them laughed before Asra and Julian began showering her with affection. Kasumi sighed with a smile on her face and simply let them do what they wished with her. _'I am a lucky woman!'_ She thought.

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Hey everyone! Well, there it is! I hope this story has been a good one for all of you to enjoy! I certainly enjoyed writing it! I wanted it to end kind of like how it started, so I decided the whole bath scene was the best way to do that! Besides, who else thinks that sex in the bath is hot? Anyone?

Also, I know that I am going to put up an epilogue, or even a whole new sequel story if you guys want! I'm not sure if it's going to be set a bit in the future, or take place right after this. Please let me know your suggestions!


	12. Author's Note

All right, so I know that the last chapter of this story was not really the best, but I was eager to finish the story. I am now working on the sequel, and it would be great if you were all to come and see it once it is posted. It will still be an Asra/Kasumi/Julian story, and I will try to add a bit more detail for Nadia/Portia, as well.

Anyway, I just wanted to post this to let you all know that just because it's the end of this book, it doesn't mean it's the end for the series itself!


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